Educational creativity

Changes, Changes- A book of building and a craft too

2012-02-24T18:39:00.000-06:00

Changes, Changes is a book by Pat Hutchins

This book has no words and I was amazed at how it kept all the children's interest. We predicted what the people would build next. At the end of the story we recalled all the different things that were built. They did great with it. Some even asked to read it again. Since we share all our books from Creative Curriculum with another class, we had to give the book up for the day.

I decided to let the children make their own structures like in the book.

Like the book states, plans change.

My lesson plan shows the intent of the activity below.

First, we worked together to watercolor paint a large piece of paper. I then cut out shapes from the paper, and I added some other paper scraps from other cutting projects. Next the kids were asked to glue some shapes down to make something. I recorded what they made on each page along with their name.

We turned it into a book we will keep in our library. Now, the kids can read our story.

Well, 3 year olds who have never been aloud to use glue independently changed the activity to meet their own goals. Oh well. It is the process.

I still think the idea of creating our own book from our art work is a great idea, but it will have to wait on another art project and more experience with art materials.

Painting with make up sponges

2012-02-22T15:32:00.000-06:00

I bought these triangular make up sponges to make the DIY dot painters like Teach Preschool has done. But, they were not big enough to fit the containers I was going to use. Oh well. We just used them to paint with instead. My kids get a lot of watercolors with paint brushes. They need a new medium to keep them interested in painting.

Some kids used only one color.

Some kids used many colors to make patterns.

Some kids used many colors and layered they paper with so much paint it made the neatest textured painting.

Some kids used the sponges on the skinny side and others used the fat side.

I have found that painting with the strangest things make the neatest looking product and provide the best process oriented artwork.

If you want to learn more about process versus product artwork, you can visit this previous post.

Buildings

2012-02-20T16:50:00.000-06:00

Building, Buildings, and more Building
I have been excited to start this theme of buildings, since I have 13 boys.

I took pictures of the familiar sites around town, then printed them big enough to fit on our cardboard blocks. How's that for environmental print. Some pictures I made big enough to cut in half or forths to encourage children to build the buildings and not just build to knock down. Add some helmets, tools, and vehicles and you have a construction zone the kids will want to visit.

One little boy carried this fire station around all during center time because his dad works there. So make multiples if you want to encourage sharing.

My classroom is lacking car, trucks, or anything with wheels. This will not do, so I made vehicles the same way I made the building blocks. Luckily, there was some construction vehicles right outside my house this week. Target and Dollar tree supplied me with the other vehicles with wheels for $1 each.

I asked each child "What type of building do you live in?" Just a little hint. Don't right your name up on the chart first or you will have everyone living in the same type of building that you do. Luckily in Head Start, we do home visits, so my aide knew which type of building they all lived in. So, now back to describing different types of buildings. It would have been better if I had real pictures of buildings.

A great Dollar tree find

2012-02-18T14:30:00.000-06:00

I love going to the Dollar Tree before going anywhere else to find supplies for school.

Here is one I found this weekend.

Bendaroos, also called stikki wikkis, can be used to make things or used as a more educational activities.

You can use them to have children trace their names. They stick to most hard surfaces.

Let the kids outline shapes. Slip a drawn shape in a page protector.

I have used them with my Handwriting Without Tears letter cards to let them form numbers.

One Little girl made a pattern on the blocks that were also on the table.

I've seen these used on big books to circle sight words or letters the class is working on. Just try to find a creative way to use them. It's great when you can find them at such a great price.

The Three Little Pig Building

2012-02-06T17:40:00.000-06:00

The Three Little Pigs

We read The Three Little Pigs story by . It is a little long for three year olds but if you get the kids to chant along, you'll keep their attention.

There are lots of versions of this story out there. These 2 came with the Creative Curriculum.

The True Story of The Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka is about the nice wolf who comes to borrow a cup of sugar and sneezes to start a horrible misunderstanding

The Three Little Javelinas is a Mexican version where the bad coyote chases the pigs. It is a very long story.

If your looking for the best read aloud, look for a book with some of these qualities.

a positive attitude-
many versions have the pigs being eaten, which can be scary for young children and the idea that the mom would make her kids leave their home might cause some questions.
Rhyme and repetition-
children will chant along with a story that rhymes and repeats, which means they will be more interested in the story and have a better understanding of the story
Simple and short story line-
If the story line is long and complicated, the kids will zone out

OR
just make up your own story using puppets or props.

Greg &Steve have a Three Little Pig Blues on Playing Favorites album

As a response we told how we would build our own houses. I made this cute little pig tri-fold book, added a nose, eyes, and curly tail to the outside cover.

Sorry the pics are a little dark.

Then the children added their picture to the page that described how they would build their own house. I'm using pictures with these 3 year olds to get them use to making a decision, something they have not been accustomed to in the classroom. Then will add their names to the picture, then take the picture away. This will help them recognize and use their names more often.

You can retell the story on this cute flip down book.

Fold large paper in half lengthwise. Then cut only the top fold down so the paper is in thirds. Then cut the top into a roof into triangles. Decorate.

Open the flaps to tell the story in writing.

I found this playdo set on clearance at walmart. It's not as involved as the picture looks, but the kids enjoyed making the pigs.

We also have this cute felt board set thanks to Preschool Printables.

If you want more information about how to make your own felt board pieces check out this previous post

If you want to make your own felt boards Teach Preschool

We used straws, sticks, and foam bricks to build houses on the sticky table. Thanks to Teach Preschool for the inspiration.

Even the most hyper kids spent lots of time on this one.

It is just clear contact paper taped to our sensory table sticky side up. I drew a house frame on paper and slipped it under the contact paper.

I have always done a sticky board on my easel.

But this way on the table was fun and could be done on a large area.

Fingerplay Friday- Building

2012-01-27T17:54:00.000-06:00

Thanks Jean Warren, visit her for more building ideas

SEE WHAT I BUILT TODAY!
Tune: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
I’M A BUILDER
Tune: “Frere Jacques”
I’m a builder,
I’m a builder
Watch me pound,
Hear my sound.
Tap, a tap, a tap, tap.
Tap, a tap, a tap, tap.
Hear me pound,
Hear me pound!

I just love to hammer wood,
Hammer wood, hammer wood.
I just love to hammer wood,
See what I built today!
I just love to saw the wood,
Saw the wood, saw the wood.
I just love to saw the wood,
See what I built to day!
I just love to sand the wood,
Sand the wood, sand the wood.
I just love to sand the wood,
See what I built today!

THIS IS THE WAY WE BUILD A HOUSE
Tune: “Mulberry Bush”
This is the way we build a house,
Build a house, build a house.
This is the way we build a house,
So early in the morning.
This is the way we hammer the nails,
Hammer the nails, hammer the nails.
This is the way we hammer the nails,
So early in the morning.
This is the way, we saw the wood,
Saw the wood, saw the wood.
This is the way we saw the wood,
So early in the morning.

I'm in need of more building related poems or fingerplays. If you know one please share.

Buildings

2012-01-26T19:11:00.000-06:00

The Writing Center

Hammering- Don't forget your protective eye gear!

Waffle blocks- great for 3D building

Dramatic Play- also great for fine motor skills

squeezing pliers, twisting screws

I love these gears

Dot painted letters

2012-01-22T13:00:00.003-06:00

I do this at the beginning of the year to show the kids that their names and the letters in their names are important. Make sure to use a permanent marker, so the colors don't bleed together.

For 3 year olds, I make a bubble letter of the child's first letter of their name, then just right the rest of it.

For 4 year olds, I make their entire name in bubble letters.

Then let the kids dot away. Hang them up, so the kids can find their names as the year goes on.

If your interested in making your own dot painters, check out my previous post or Teach Preschool's version.

A new year in the classroom

2012-01-20T18:03:00.000-06:00

A new year- a new curriculum- new lesson plans

     Our preschool has adopted the Creative Curriculum, so if you are doing the same themes in your classroom, I'd like to know some of your ideas on it. We are working on clothing and I am trying to tie it into winter activities by dressing snowmen.

     Centers:
Toys and games
                 I found these adorable toys in the LTD magazine at a great price years ago. They are very durable and the kids love them. I have a hard time getting my daughter to share with my classroom.

I also made this snowman magnet game. I found the worksheet in an old Mailbox magazine. Copy, cut, color, laminate, add magnets. The children sort the cloths according to size for each snowman.

Dramatic Play: I had lots of Doctor stuff to make a doctor's office, since we were talking about uniforms. The shots were a big hit. Old t-shirts made great Dr. uniforms. Someone made this neat pretend blood specimen for me.

I wish I had thought of turning the dramatic play area into a laundry mat earlier, but it may be extended into next week, so pics will come soon.

We haven't had any snow or even many cold days here in Texas, so I will be saving my snowy stuff for when it gets colder. It is an amazing 70 degrees here.

Nominated? Wow!

2012-01-16T20:48:00.000-06:00

I have just been nominated for an award. I am not at all sure what a award is but boy did it make me feel good. So I will continue the award chain to hopefully make others feel good too. Thanks sonshine tot school.

I hope my future blogs will interest so many more people. It's a new year. Check out some new ideas. All these sites came from my favorites list. They have something I really want to make or do myself but just haven't gotten to yet. Maybe I'll get to them this year.

More than abc's and 123's- This mommy and teacher has a beautiful site to look at and some good ideas.

Crafty Soccer Mom- There are a lot of do it yourself projects here.

The Felt Mouse has some cute ideas.

A Happy Wanderer has some fun stuff.

How Long is this Hall? reminds me of my first year teaching with 27 kids.

The rules of this award are as follows:

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who nominated you by linking back to their blog. Thank you, Sonshine Tot School
2. Nominate five other happy little blogs (200 followers or less) by posting a comment on their blogs.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Check out what the other up-and-coming blogs have to offer.

Have a Wonderful Holiday Everyone!

2011-12-17T08:48:00.000-06:00

I along with my girls finally have the chance to go back and visit family in Ohio for the holidays. In January, I will be back with some new ideas and hopefully a new camera. In the mean time I hope everyone has a nice holiday with their families.

Great News

2011-12-08T19:27:00.000-06:00

I am excited to share that beginning in the new year I will officially be a Head Start teacher. I will be sharing and collecting more preschool age activities. If you have something wintery you would like to share please let me know. I will share some of my favorite winter activities.

Take home snowman
Snow globes
Painting with ice
Fake snow in the sensory tub
Making a big book

Fingerplay Friday- 5 Little Holiday poems

2011-12-02T08:19:00.001-06:00

5 Little Christmas Trees
5 little Christmas trees standing all alone
Their hears were very sad
cause they hadn't found a home
Then chop went he ax and down fell the tree
And off it went with a happy family

4 little....
3 little...
2 little...
1 little...
No little Christmas trees standing all alone
Their hearts were very happy
cause they all found a home.

5 Little Stockings
5 little stockings hanging by the fire.
the first one said, "I'm getting tired."
the second one said, "But Santa's in the air."
the third one said, "yeah and we care."
the forth one said, "Oh fun, fun, fun."
the fifth one said, "Christmas time is fun."
Ding went the clock and out went the fire.
And 5 little stockings were filled by Santa that night.

5 Little Reindeer
the first little reindeer went to the market.
to buy some Christmas trees.
the second little reindeer went to the elf shop
to supervise the toys.
the third little reindeer hurried to the cookie factory
to prepare for girls and boys.
the forth little reindeer went to the TV stations
to ready the Christmas shows.
And the fifth little reindeer went to see old man winter
to order the seasons snow.

This last one seems unfinished. Can anyone finish it?

What a teacher wants- for Christmas

2011-12-01T08:00:00.004-06:00

Happy

Holidays

It is that

time of year again.

Are you shopping for yet?

Do you plan to buy a present for

your child's teacher or other school personnel?

Do you wonder what in the world would this special person want?

Did you

remember

everyone?

Every teacher you ask will say "I don't need a present." Teachers do not choose this job for the money or presents. Seeing your child learn is very rewarding. But if you still want to show your gratitude or just make someone feel extra special, you may want to present your child's teacher with a little gift. Check out this previous post about the 10 gifts teachers want.

I chose to help out the teacher by making some things that I 'm sure the teacher doesn't have time to do herself. Most of it is stuff I would or do want for my own classroom. Before making or buying something for the classroom, I would recommend visiting your child's class to find out what the teachers use. If you need some more ideas, visit the tip junkie for all kinds of cute home made gifts.

Gift 1
Here is how easy and cheap the first present was to make.
Buy small plastic frame from Walmart. I bought 2 4x6 frames at $.98 each.

I found these on clearance $1.50 after the school shopping was over. They are great. They don't smell like the markers do and they don't make a mess. They even come with a wipe off mitten. No more dirty socks in the classroom

Print out letters of the alphabet a little smaller than your frame. I put them on pretty red paper but you don't have to.

Put all of the items in a plastic bag. Then I taped some directions I typed to go along with it.

Gift 2
Pre-made sensory tub
In her classroom, she has a small sensory tub. So, I made an school spirit tub. I included black beans, orange pom poms, orange scoops, and orange pony beads.
I typed up a cute label and taped it to a plastic bag with all the goodies inside.

(sorry pic reflected the light)

Gift 3
Edible goodies
What teacher doesn't need a little chocolate stashed away for those hard days. I will also make one for the aide that helps out with all the little ones in the class.

Gift 4
This teacher does a treasure box as a reward when the children get 5 good check marks. That can get expensive to replenish with things the kids will enjoy. I just bought a bunch of little prize things.

Fingerplay Friday- Christmas

2011-11-25T08:00:00.001-06:00

After Thanksgiving, we dive right into Christmas because December goes by so fast.

Santa
Here is the chimney (hand in a fist with thumb inside fingers)
Here is the top (put other hand flat on top of fist)
Open the lid ( remove top hand)
And out Santa will pop. (Stick thumb up)

Peppermint Stick
Oh, I took a lick of my peppermint stick
and it was really yummy.
Oh, it use to be on my Christmas tree
but now it's in my tummy.

Fingerplay Friday- Turkeys

2011-11-18T10:48:00.002-06:00

Mr. Turkey

Mr. Turkey, Mr. Turkey
Big and Fat, Big and Fat
I am going to eat you, I am going to eat you.
Just like that, Just like that.

Mr. Turkey

I have a turkey big and fat,
He spreads his wings and walks like that
His daily corn he would not miss
And when he talks it sounds like this
gobble, gobble, gobble

5 Fat Turkeys

5 fat turkeys sitting on a fence.
The first one said, " Oh, my , I'm immense!"
The second one said, " I can gobble at you,"
The third one said, "I can gobble too."
The forth one said, "I can spread my tail."
The fifth one said, "Don't catch it on a nail."
The farmer came by and had to say,
"Turkeys look best on Thanksgiving Day."

Not a Turkey by Karl Fuchs

Mom is in the kitchen
and when I take a look
I'm glad I'm not a turkey
that she's about to cook

Thanksgiving and Fall

2011-11-11T22:10:00.005-06:00

Thanksgiving is about giving thanks. This is what I like to teach my kids. Of course turkeys make such great crafts.   The book by that name I got from scholastic for $1 says it all.

Books

I made a simple big book about scarecrows from a worksheet I was given to let the children color. In my opinion children shouldn't be given worksheets, but they do make great books with a little creativity. You could make it with any worksheet. The words I typed on the computer were: The boots are black. The hat is yellow. The shirt is red. The pants are blue. Here is a scarecrow. I just made multiple copies of the worksheet, colored it according to my words, and laminated.

This book here looks cute. Sonshine Tot school also gives you her lessons to go with the book.

Here is a flannel board set to go along with I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie.

Turkey feather
My favorite activity for Thanksgiving is one that isn't done in the classroom. I cut out a large feather shape out of poster board or any thicker paper and send it home with this note.
                                   Dear Parents,
                                         This is a turkey feather that will be part of our class turkey.
                                   Please decorate it at home as a family. You may use any material
                                   you chose. Some suggestions are string, cereal, stickers, markers,
                                   pictures, etc. Have fun and be creative. Bring it back as soon as
                                  you have finished, so we can give our turkey wings.
                                                                                     Thanks

When the children bring back their feather, I hang it up around a peanut shapes turkey body. It is a great way to include parents in the daily activities of school. It shows kids how we are all different but work together to make something great. And it makes the neatest bulletin board. I only wish I had taken pictures of last years turkey. Since I have such small classes, I keep the feathers and put them up year after year. The kids love to see what their siblings made when they were in Preschool.

Here is a cute take home idea where children take home a turkey and have to disguise it. It would go well with the book The Plump and Perkey Turkey.

Truckful of Thanks- We use to plan transportation in November, so I combined it with Thanksgiving by giving each child a pre-made dump truck which they drew and dictated what they were thankful for. Then we cut out a rectangle the size of the truck bed and attached it with a brad, so when you opened it, you could see what was inside the truck.

Turkey place mats
I also tried to include some Fall activities in during the month, a list of ideas is below. So, we rolled acorns on a large piece of yellow paper. This paper is then used to make a "place mat" by scalloping the top to curve like feathers of a Turkey. Then you can add the child's foot print or cut foot print from paper to make the turkeys body. Color eyes, beak, and a waddle.

Turkey handprints
This is a clasic art project. I still have mine from when I was little. Here is a different version. It gets children using those site words. I've also used them to make cards and let kids glue real feathers on them.

Other activities
Here is Teach Preschool's collection of Thanksgiving ideas. She is an amazing collector.

Here is a cute game printable to go with the book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

I will post some Turkey poems and finger plays on Friday

Here is a whole packet of cute free printable stuff for Thanksgiving.

Fall
It is just now showing signs of Fall down here, so here are some Fall activities for this month.

The easiest activity I have done is to make tissue paper leaves by giving the children a piece of contact paper and some colorful tissue paper squares to put on it.  Great fine motor activity. When they were done filling the contact paper up, I would cut a maple leaf shape from the Ellison machine. Then, I would punch a hole in it and tie a string on it to hang.

Here are some really cute leaf activities including a real leaf graph and observation sheet.

I would love to try this crayon melting activity from Teach Preschool.

This is such a cool use for modge podge to keep real leaves looking new. And, since colorful leaves are hard to find down here, when I visit Ohio we will be doing this project.

Here are some Fall word cards to hang in your writing center.

Here is Teach Preschool's collection of scarecrow activities.

Fingerplay Friday- Transportation

2011-11-11T10:40:00.001-06:00

This is my favorite transportation finger play. I use some sign language to go along with the poem. We made something in art to go along with each line of the poem, so it would be easy to make a class book to go along.

Transportation

Ships(boats) sail on the water ( cup your hands together, bounce them forward like going over waves)
Planes fly through the air. ( Put pinky finger and thumb out, fold others under, pretend to land plane on other hand)
Cars and trains roll on the land (roll hands around each other)
And take us everywhere. (Put both hands out with palms up)

Literacy Centers- Writing

2011-11-05T22:13:00.000-05:00

Writing, for young children is a playful but purposeful activity. Doing countless tracing worksheets will not teach a child to write and will probably discourage them from wanting to write. Here is a site that explains this concept well. Teaching writing should also be playful and purposeful. If you are interested in learning more about the stages of writing look at this previous post. Along with fun group lessons that help children learn to write letters, words, sentences, and stories, I use a writing center as a way to encourage writing, practice writing, and making writing purposeful. I frequently visit this center to prompt new letter or word uses. I try to encourage story writing, also. This will help with reading skills. If they can write their own story, they can read it back to you.

In the writing center, children always have access to writing materials including paper, markers (are better for writing), crayons (come in more colors), stamps and ink, scissors, a stapler, and glue sticks. I sometimes will add stickers or other writing materials. I add one material each week to the center after we have talked about how to use them, like markers, glue sticks, and caps. There are labels on everything. I have used a shelf with baskets to hold materials or those little see through drawers. It really doesn't matter how you store the materials as long as you have them available. Last year I up graded my Writing center table to one of the bigger tables that would hold at least 4 people because it was so popular. Even then, I still had kids pulling materials onto the nearby table and the kitchen area.

On the wall, I hang ABC posters for references. I also hang up a ring of word cards that relate to the theme or month. I bought a set of posters that had the month with a bunch of related words to cut out. You can find some neat colored printable words here and here and here.

other additions

This is one of the tools I add to my writing center. As we talk about each letter, I add this to the center. See my hands on alphabet post to find out what this is.

DIY stamps- stamps are great tools to add to your writing center. They encourage counting and story telling. You could use letter stamps also but I save those for my word work center.

Chalk boards are a fun addition to the center. Directions for Making your own chalk boards

here is the recipe for chalkboard paint

Here is a cute idea for how to make a pizza box into a wipe off board and chalkboard easel. Did you know they make chalkboard contact paper?

Here are some other cute ideas.

Neat idea with picture frames. And wipe of crayons are great. I recently found them on clearance at Walmart for $1.50 a box. No sticky markers, no staining, and nice colors

I like this set up from the Kimbrell Family

For older kids, you could add a writing prompt bag. Use little toys, like the ones you get in happy meals, to give students something to write about.

No matter what you put into your writing center or how it looks, please remember, this center is to encourage writing skills, not handwriting skills or grammar. I would never put a worksheet to practice handwriting or have children practice sight words in this center. Doing this will discourage those who don't have the greatest fine motor skills or those with a lack of interest in words from visiting the center. If a child shows any interest in making something to take home, you can encourage them to visit the writing center. A letter to Grandma, a card for Dad's birthday, an I miss you note to Mom, or even a picture to a sibling are all great opportunities to encourage writing. As you show interest in their stories and pictures, they will keep asking to return to the center for more. Phonics skills, handwriting skills, and language skills will increase as the child explores the materials. Scaffolding writing skills is important in this center. You can write what the child dictates, let the child write some letters they already know, or help the child spell on their own. It is a way to encourage those children who have come to you with the higher level skills to increase their learning and self esteem.

Here is an example of what can come from encouraging writing.

This is a first grader who wrote a story and illustrated it to make a book for others to read. Make sure to read the last page that explains why she wrote the book.

This girl will be graduating from high school this year. I hope she will be attending college, maybe as a writer.

Literacy centers- Library/ Reading

2011-10-25T21:52:00.001-05:00

You are suppose to have like 14 books per child available to children each day in order to promote good reading. And, the books need to be rotated often. I don't nearly have that many available, but I like to try to get as many books out as possible. That doesn't mean you need to have 14 of the same book or that they need to be good quality books.

So how do you collect enough books? I have found books at garage sales, scholastic $1 books and freebies, Dollar Tree, and thrift stores. Books in your library don't have to be the same as read alouds. Board books, old books, black and white books, or any kind of book will work. Don't forget to provide inexpensive paperback copies of your favorite read alouds and provide multiple copies of the children's favorites. Make sure you put out books that are from the different genres and different reading levels. You can also have class or child made books available.

Are you new to children's books or need new ideas for books. If you need help finding good quality books check here.

No Time for Flash Cards has many posts on good children's books.

Teach Preschool has an amazing collection of books, click on a book and it will take you to the website for ideas to go with the book.

Here you'll find some neat books with activities to go with them. It is geared towards younger kids.

How do you organize all those books? You could organize them library style by the Author's name. I find this very difficult to find books since I can't always remember the author's name. I organize my books by the subject it best fits with. Ex. apples, ABC books, or dinosaur books

How do you train kids to use the library or reading center? We know what we want the library center to look like. Quiet children reading a book attentively. That probably wont happen. Practice talking in a quiet voice. Teach children they can read the words, the pictures, or the story. This will keep them from saying "I don't know how to read." I like to teach how to respect the books. They don't belong on the floor. They shouldn't be ripped or colored on. Some kids have never had books before, so they just don't know how to use them.

How do you assess the reading center? In order to rationalize the simple joy of reading to some people, providing an assessment every once in a while helps ease their minds.

Provide a simple sheet that has children write the title and author of a book they read and space to draw a picture about the story or line to write their favorite part.

Live, Love and Laugh has a free printable to go with ABC books

Provide a project to make a connection with the book.

Just remember, in order to learn to read, children need to find reading enjoyable. So, make it fun, give them plenty of opportunities to read, and provide lots to read.

Fingerplay Friday- trick or treating

2011-10-21T16:29:00.000-05:00

I have just one more for Halloween to share. Do you have a favorite Halloween or pumpkin fingerplay or poem you would like to share?

Trick or Treating (are you sleeping)

Trick or treating, trick or treating
bring a light
make it bright
check out all your candy
make sure it's fine and dandy
let's be safe
let's be safe

Halloween

2011-10-09T14:26:00.007-05:00

There is a lot of debate about celebrating a holiday with such a scary background. Or celebrating holidays, using candy, or using scary things in the classroom. With my experience, I have learned or have acquired the following feelings about the topic.
     Halloween can be scary. Children need to learn how to deal with scary things. My own child asked to do activities about scary things, I think to help her cope with the new fear of monsters in her room. If we present scary things as not so scary and how to deal with the fear, Halloween can be a helpful learning experience.
     You must respect the traditions and beliefs of the families in your class. If you are limited for whatever the reason, you can still find lots of fall related activities. Pumpkins, bats, spiders, skeletons, and scare crows are not related to Halloween alone. There are a great number of things you can do with out ever relating it to Halloween.
     In regards to candy and parties. Any time you disrupt your normal schedule, children will seem to be going crazy. My "parties" are a normal day, with the exception of snack which a parent brings in. I may use food in an activity, but there is a goal. There are a number of healthy treats out there now that are not candy. Pretzels and fruit snacks are just as fun to sort, graph and, make patterns with.

If you chose to have some Halloween fun here are some ideas.

Halloween Poems or finger plays
5 Little Pumpkins
Here is a cute printable to go along with the poem.

Here is a cute story to tell the kids that turns a paper into a jack-o-lantern.

Here is a cute ghost story. Atleast I think so, but when I tried it with kindergarteners, they weren't interested. Maybe just for preschoolers.

Halloween games

Spell Ghost

Here are some cute monster activities.

Matching colors ghost file folder game

Pumpkin decorating- stickers, paint, or like Teach preschool does it, with playdo and magnets and cans.

Cute roll a Jack o Lantern game, cheap, too

Here you'll find a memory game, tic tac toe, and paper dress up dolls along with many other cute stuff

These are so cute. You could use them for counters or sorting and graphing.

Why not make a Jack-O-Lantern wipe off board like No Time for Flashcards. This will work great with those new wipe off crayons I found on clearance for $1.50.

Here is a cute counting activity

I like the cute pumpkin book the kids can make. It talks about feelings, and the kids draw the faces. Halloween is a great time to talk about feelings.

I made a big book called Jack-O-Happy, similar to the one above.

Halloween snacks
    ghost toast
     spider cookies
     Here is a cute pumpkin pie type recipe. Pumpkin can be a strong flavor and some kids don't like it, but what about orange pudding. And I love the simple jack-o-lantern cups.
     Here is another cute snack or dinner.

Halloween crafts

tube monster

Here are some cute hand monsters.

Here are some tubes made into mummys.

Foot ghost

Here are some cute monster activities collected by Teach Preschool

And some pumpkins with cups

Here are some other cute crafts.

5 Little Ghosts or pumpkins sitting on the fence- cut rectangles so kids can make a fence, then let kids stamp pumpkins using cookie cutters on the fence. They have to count to 5.

Torn paper pumpkins- kids ripe paper using fine motor skills, then glue them on paper to form a pumpkin

Halloween books

One of my favorites. I copied the pages then laminated them to make a sequencing game.

Easy reader and counter.

Other books not pictured
The Stubborn Pumpkin

Halloween activities
Reenact the Stubborn Pumpkin with Halloween characters. We did this every year as a play for our families. The kids love it. I used hats I found on clearance or made. I have a pumpkin, farmer, ghost, scary lady (Frankenstein's bride hair), monster, bat, cat, witch, spider, scare crow, and a skeleton, but you could use anything. After Halloween, costumes can be cheap so think about it for next year.

Pounding the pumpkin- Use golf tees (I've seen colored ones in the Halloween section) to hammer into pumpkin, don't forget the goggles for safety. Good for hand/ eye coordination. And the kids love it. They use lots of language describing the smell and feel of the pumpkin.

Here you'll find a neat book about bones and how to use your own body to show where your bones are.

Here you'll find a cute printable book.

If you are in charge of planning a party, you'll find some ideas here

Pumpkins

2011-10-08T18:56:00.005-05:00

Cute pumpkin and easy for little fingers

I really like these mini cardboard tube apples that can be turned into pumpkins

If you do the 5 Little Pumpkins poem, here is a freebie you could make into a book or flannel board.

number order printable

This is a book to reinforce shapes.

Pumpkin lifecycle

Here is a cute way to recycle while making pumpkins

visit confessions of a homeschooler for some pumpkin printables.

Here is Fran's patterns for fall. I love her stuff and when it's free it's even better. and I like her pumpkin seed counting book.

Here are some cute pumpkin activities involving words, letters, and numbers.

Fingerplay Friday

2011-10-07T09:37:00.000-05:00

Halloween

5 Little Pumpkins

5 Litlle pumkins growing on a vine.

1st one said, "Don't I look fine?"

2nd one said, "I'll be in a pie."

3rd one said, "I'll be a lantern by & by."

4th one said, "I will too."

But the 5th little pumpkin just said, "Boo!"

5 Little Ghosts

5 little ghosts on Halloween night

1st one said, "I think it's almost 8."

2nd one said, " I'm going out to howl."

3rd one said, "I'm going out to prowl."

4th one said, "The moon is far too bright."

5th one said, " Let's fly, It's Halloween night."

5 Little Witches

5 little witches on a Halloween night.

Made a very, very spooky sight.

The first witch danced on her tippy tiptoes.

The second witch tumbled and bumped her nose.

The tird witch flew high up in the air.

The fourth witch combed her fuzzy hair.

The fifth witch sang a Halloween song.

Five witches played the whole night long!

Another Great Giveaway

2011-10-03T16:47:00.002-05:00

For those of you who love Teach Preschool as much as I do, you will love Deborah's music. My daughter will sit with me on the computer for a very long time just listening to her songs. So here is a chance to win her CD.

Go to
The Amazing Mess

Giveaways are great!

2011-10-02T11:31:00.001-05:00

I wish I had the funds and resources to give neat things away. So, since I can't here is where you can go to win this bookshelf from Guidecraft.

Mommy PR has the entry form.

Fingerplay Friday- Pumpkins

2011-09-30T09:01:00.001-05:00

I have found Fall to be my favorite time of the year because there is so much you can do. So, I will give you a few pumpkin poems. Don't forget to check back later to see some of the Halloween activities and books I have to share.

Pumpkin Song (I'm a little Teapot)

I'm a little pumpkin
orange and round
here is my stem,
there is the ground.
When I get all cut up.
Don't you shout.
Just open me up
and scoop me out.

Mr. Pumpkin (Where is thumpkin)

Mr. Pumpkin,
Mr. Pumpkin,
Round and Fat
Round and Fat
Harvest time is coming
Harvest time is coming
Yum, Yum, Yum
That is that.

Pumpkin Song (Have you ever seen a lassie)

Have you ever seen a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin
Have you ever seen a pumpkin that grows on a vine?
A round one, a tall one, a fat one a small one.
Have you ever seen a pumpkin that grows on a vine?

Math Centers- Construction

2011-09-26T21:36:00.001-05:00

Construction- Building with different kinds of materials is important for kids. They use critical and creative thinking skills as well as trial and error. It is the one center I have seen very little of in kindergarten.

I always include cars and people to go with which ever type of building material I choose. Examples might be legos, waffle blocks, brick blocks... You can put blue prints (make them yourself or child made by crayon resist drawings of buildings and blue watercolor paint) or copy me papers (include a pattern or 3D structure for children to copy) in the center to challenge the kids. Include paper, pencils, and a clipboard to encourage writing.

Or check out some of these creative construction ideas

What about these for building quietly? Colorful and creative

amazing road kids can put together like a puzzle

another neat road

another road that cars travel down stairs

aren't these building materials unique and fun?

Time For Play has cheap creative construction materials

Chasing Cheerios has this wonderful colorful block fun.

So what are some of your ideas? Do you include construction in your centers?

Fingerplay Friday- Firefighters

2011-09-23T09:00:00.002-05:00

During this month we always talked about Fire safety and had visits from the fire department, so here are so poems I used.

I'm a Firefighter (by Judy Hall) (I'm a Little Teapot)

I'm a firefighter
Dressed in red,
With my fire hat
on my head.
I can drive the fire truck,
Fight fires, too,
And help to make things safe for you.

Down at the Firehouse (by Jean Warren) (Down by the Station)

Down at the firehouse
Early in the morning.
You can see our clothes
hanging in a row.
When there is a fire,
We can dress real fast,
Boots, jackets, hats gloves,
off we go!

Ten Little Firefighters

Ten little firefighters,
sleeping in their beds
Ding! went the bell
and down the pole they slid.
They raced to the fire
and put out all the flames
then the ten firefighters
went back to bed again.

Fingerplay Friday- Happy Birthday and Reading

2011-09-09T09:41:00.001-05:00

I've been in a lot of different classrooms lately, and I have seen cupcakes and word walls so here are a couple of poems you can use.

Happy Birthday
Today's the day we get to say,
"We're happy you were born today."
Hooray!

If You're Reading and Your Know it. (If You're Happy and You Know it)
If you're reading and you know it say the word, ________, _________.
If you're reading and you know it say the word, ________, _________.
If you're reading and you know it and you really want to show it.
If you're reading and you know it say the word, ________, _________.

If you're reading and you know it find the word.
If you're reading and you know it find the word.
If you're reading and you know it and you really want to show it.
If you're reading and you know it find the word.

Fingerplay Friday-Apples, Fall, Reading

2011-09-02T11:41:00.001-05:00

For those of you who are starting to see some signs of fall here are a few fingerplays related to fall. We still are in the 100's. For those of you who are musically inclined the letters in parenthesis is a cord to make the fingerplay into a song.

Colored Leaves
See the pretty colored leaves
Swaying gently in the breeze.
Let's all watch them as they fall,
Then name their color one and all!

Autumn Leaves
Trees are bending (C)
With the wind,(B)
Leaves are falling (A)
Down(G)
Twirling, twirling(F)
Swirling swirling(E)
Soon there on the (D)
Ground(C)
I rake the leaves in
to a pile, and
Make it very
High,
Then I jump with
All my might, and
Whee! I'm out of
Sight

Autumn leaves
Whirling twirling all around
Softly falling to the ground
Red and yellow orange and brown
Fall the autumn leaves

Apple Tree
(we change "little" to "red", "green", "yellow" on apple tasting day, then graph which apple we like best)
Way up high in the apple tree
2 little apples smiled at me
I shook that tree as hard as I could
Down came the apples "mmm" their good

Literacy Centers- Name work/ word work

2011-08-30T18:22:00.006-05:00

Exploring words in a variety of ways will help children learn spelling and improve vocabulary. I believe in a hands- on approach even when spelling words. I plan on making word boxes using sight words I will show you as soon as they are finished. I will be using the empty baby food containers and stickers and other letters. Children will be able to put the words together using the outside word as an example. I may also make a surprise word box when they start reading words a little better. For now here are some really special ideas I would like to try this year.

Name work- provides letters so children can practice their names without worrying about correct letter formation. These activities easily fit on a tray to encourage individual work.
Word work- for older children

Milk caps or bottle tops make a simple name game. You can make each child a set and put it in a baggies with a label or just provide plenty of letters for children to chose from.

Christmas ornaments on a string printable. adorable!

name cards

Toddler approved, easy name puzzle

This would be fun to use to spell names.

And here is a great way to store them. Kids could take them home.

crayon rubbings with word puzzles

Valentine's words and other great Valentine's printables

Digging up your name or letters in a word, you could use plastic letters too.
Color words with Brown Bear, Brown Bear downloads thanks to Doodle bugs teaching
She has a lot of neat printables to check out too.

color by number site words

word and picture cards in color

printable site word stuff. I love 1+1+1=1 playdo mats.

label your home, I send home a game like this, but she makes them pretty.

Now tell me the boys wont want to do this

Great for site words

I love this using colored alphabet pasta, and lots of other great ideas too.

Here is another great color word printable

I like these spinny spellers
I've been hearing a lot of sylable work going on.

This is a cute way to do it. You can purchase the monster unit from Mrs. Lee's kindergarten from tpt

Here is a free syllable or clapping out words center sheet. I love all the centers at Kidscount1234.com. You have to visit. The Jenga game is neat learning fun. I want the gumball machine game.

This is a great word family center. You'll also find a word family stick game.

Will Post Soon

2011-08-23T13:40:00.000-05:00

Sorry everyone if you were looking for Fingerplay Friday or any other fun posts. I have been very busy this week. I was given a classroom to set up in 2 days before kids came, and because of budget cuts, it was taken away. So I am in the midst of cleaning up and back on the sub list again. I am also preparing for a wedding my daughter and I will be attending, so I will try to get things back up and running soon. Thanks for your support and all the wonderful comments.

Stages of Writing

2011-08-14T21:36:00.000-05:00

I don't have a lot of experience with a specific writing curriculum, but I have acquired a lot of knowledge though observation, conferences, college classes, and reading. I was very fortunate to have a really good language arts teacher in college. She showed us how important real literature and writing go hand in hand to teach children to read and write.

Before a child is ready to write, Handwriting Without Tears, has shown that children progress in markings in a certain order. First, side to side, then up and down, then a cross, then a circle, then a square, then a triangle. This just states that diagonal writing is the hardest for little hands to make. So, don't start writing with letter A. When children start to assign meaning to their marks, then starts the real writing.

I found this very neat worksheet somewhere and thought it was a good description for parents to look at. I hang it up on my parent board, so they can see that their child isn't just scribbling.

My daughter has really been interested in writing lately so here are some of her writings. She is almost 4 1/2 now, so keep that in mind. Also all of these writings happened in the last 6 months. Children can move quickly through stages if they are interested.

Stage 1

Simple pictures tell the story. I believe she told me this was our family. She is the biggest one, of course.

Stage 2

Do you remember scribbling the continuous mountains. They do mean something in this stage. This was a fish.

Stage 3

Various letters in random order on the page.

Stage 4

We are not quite here yet but close. Children in this stage start to use the phonemic knowledge they have to apply it to the letters they write. I think you will notice the next 3 stages blend together very easily, so it may seem a child is skipping around.

You will start to see her L(upside down) and the i in her name. She also found out that an M starts with her dad's name, so when her scribbles started to look like M's she continued to make them.

Stage 5

Children use the initial letter of each word to write sentences.

"I L U"

Stage 6

More phonemic awareness and maybe some words they know.

"I LV M Mommy"

Stage 7

Vowels appear.

Stage 8

Syllables are represented

"My Fav or it clr is prple

Stage 9

Many words are spelled correctly and more sentences are used.

Remember all children are different and progress at different rates, so I do not put ages next to any of these stages.

There are ways to help children progress through these stages. If you are familiar with guided reading you will probably know that guided writing goes right along with it.

Write for children. You are the model. At calendar time you could write the date. While children are making pictures or art, you could have the child dictate what they want their picture to say. Make sure to use correct spelling and grammar.

Write with children. Called Shared writing. Here is where correct spelling and grammar does not need to be enforced. We do not want to discourage children from trying. But if the class or child notices, use "boo boo tape" (any tape you can cover a mistake that the child notices and write over.) Some people do a morning message. I prefer to write about meaningful things that have happened in or outside the classroom. Go for a walk. Write what you saw. If someone visited write about that. Allow them to share the pen, writing the letters or words they know. This also works really well one on one with students. If a child is making a book, walk over and ask if you can help.

Provide opportunities for children to write alone. Have a writing center. Use daily journals. I would recommend asking the child to dictate after they are finished with their work so not to disturb their work. This is helpful for children to see what they say can be translated into words, and as a parent, it is nice to understand what the child is drawing. Children need to experience writing in order to progress through the stages. I will be sharing some ideas for writing centers in a later post.

Handwriting Without Tears does offer a lot of neat writing manipulatives that help the child form letters correctly, use the pencil grip, start writing at the top of the paper, and others. The CD's are great. The wooden sticks and curves are great manipulative for kids to form letters.

Many of these tools can be bought cheaply through other means.

Playdough is one of these tools. You can find many recipes for playdough on my blog.

This magnetic writer is another tool. I would recommend buying one of their versions because they come with wooden magnetic pieces that children use to form letters. (They are called sticks and curves.) If you have used one of these you know how easily they are destroyed, so finding them cheap is great. This one $1. Walmart had them as part of their Easter stuff.

Do you use a specific writing curriculum?

Wow! Eric Carle in Japan

2011-08-13T21:31:00.001-05:00

Eric Carle exibit in Japan. Neat!

Check it out on his blog

Math Centers- Number work

2011-08-13T10:22:00.008-05:00

Children get to explore numbers in a variety of forms.

Numeral to set

These types of games are very simple to make. Pick any theme. Cut shapes or buy them already cut out. Then find something that goes with the shape to use as counters. I like using those shaped erasers you can buy at the dollar store.

Here are butterflies cut from the ellison machine. I put numbers 1-10 on the front and 11-20 on the back just so higher level thinkers can have a challenge. I have snowmen, cars, Christmas trees, hearts, and flowers. Any little manipulative piece can be paired with a shape to make a thematic game.

You can also buy store bought games and adapt them to your needs. This game is cute but is too easy. It is set up more like flash cards so that kids can count the number of M&M's on each card. I use bowls or thought about making candy jars with the little M&M pieces.

great number work

This site has the cutest printable number games.

Fun and good for fine motor

This is cute, but I would use dots and numbers.

adorable file folder game

light table counting

This would be neat while talking about families. Kids could make their own family.

here are autumn number playdo mats and a number stamping chart and lots of other free printables.

Number Order

Here I made a puzzle out of an old calendar picture. The picture helps the children put the numbers in order.

This would work well with stick puzzles too.

Printable hundreds board

Here are the cutest cupcakes you can download. Counting by tens looks yummy

Here are some neat ideas for your math centers. I like how she uses space to create a center.

Here is a cute game for working with odd and even numbers.

Here are neat number activity centers

Writing numbers
here are some cute writing sheets and number chants to help children remember how to make the numbers.

Fingerplay Friday- All About Me

2011-08-12T08:06:00.000-05:00

Some how I post my Fingerplay Friday post on Monday so here are some more for Friday

Shadow
I see my shadow and my shadow sees me.
I waved to my shadow and my shadow waves to me.
I run with my shadow and my shadow runs with me.
I love my shadow and my shadow loves me.

Ten, Two, and One
I have 10 fingers, I have 10 toes,
I have 2 ears and one little nose,
I have 2 eyes, one mouth, one chin,
I have one tongue that moves out and in.

Number Rhyme
1,2 How do you do?
1,2,3 Clap with me.
1,2,3,4 Jump on the floor.
1,2,3,4,5 See the bees in the hive.

Fun attention getter

2011-08-08T19:18:00.000-05:00

If you are interested in getting the kids attention try this.

I've seen it called catch a bubble also.

It does say it may stain, but I have not had any problems. Parents are a little concerned when they see them in their hair, but they do wash out.

Just blow (i do not let the kids do it), count to 10, then catch.

Fingerplay Friday- Friends and Family

2011-08-07T19:39:00.000-05:00

I love fingerplays and songs where the tune is familiar but the words are new. Here's one.

The Friendship Song (London Bridges)
A friend is someone who is kind, who is kind, who is kind.
A friend is someone who is kind, just like (child's name)
A friend is someone who can help, who can help, who can help.
A friend is someone who can help, just like (child's name)
A friend is someone who can share, who can share, who can share.
A friend is someone who can share, just like (child's name)
A friend is someone you can trust, you can trust, you can trust.
A friend is someone you can trust, just like (child's name)

Finger People
Finger people are such fun
We will meet them one by one.
First comes mother, (pointer finger)
Next comes father,
Ther is big brother,
Here is sister with her ball
Here is baby last of all
Now we'll count them just to see
How many in our family
1,2,3,4,5
Activity- cut out ellison machine family people. let kids glue the
members of their family on paper and count.

Manners
We say thank you, we say please,
and excuse me when we sneeze.
That's the way we do what's right.
We have manners. We're polite.

Update on edible crayons

2011-08-07T18:35:00.001-05:00

For those who saw my post on edible crayons and are planning to try it, here is a little more information.

I told you I was planning to use a large block of candy instead of the chips. This is because I live in a small town and that was all that was available. Well, I have never made my own candy before so I assumed you could use food coloring to add color to the candy once melted. When you read the directions, it says to use oil based coloring. What is that? Also something not available in this small town. Here is where I got it. Do not use regular food coloring. It will ruin your candy. Good luck creating.

Wilton Candy

Finger play Friday

2011-08-05T08:15:00.000-05:00

On Fridays, I will share with you the fingerplays and poems I have collected over the years. Some I have used over and over. Others I may use just for fun. Others I have yet to use, but like them anyway.

The Name Game
Names are short (put your hands close together)
Names are long (put your hands far away)
Say your name and clap along
Child's name, Child's name (clap sylables in child's name)

Welcome
Give a smile
Give a cheer
Let us know that you are here
Child's name.

The Name Clapping Game (BINGO)
words by Steven Traugh
I'll sing and clap with my new friend,
And child's name is her name, oh!
-----(say each letter in child's name_
----- (repeat)
----- (repeat)
And child's name is her name, Oh!

2 Little Hands (my favorite- I used it every day after we did calendar counting to get kids to sit down)
2 little hands go clap, clap, clap. (clap hands)
2 little feet go tap, tap, tap. (stomp feet)
2 little hands go thump, thump, thump. (thump fists together)
2 little feet go jump, jump, jump. (jump)
1 little body turns around. (turn all the way around)
1 littel child sits quietly down. (say it quietly with finger over mouth)

For a substitute teacher

2011-08-04T23:05:00.000-05:00

     This one is for all those teacher's out there preparing for your days with your students. How have you prepared for when you can not be in the classroom? I know teachers do all they can to come to work day after day, but if you sprang your ankle, your child is sick, or your car wont start, do you have everything ready for someone who has never met your students to teach them. Down here you only need a GED to substitute teach, so you may get a substitute teacher with varying experience when it comes to teaching.

     Since I have yet to find a job teaching, I will be returning to substitute teaching this year. Since I have a lot of experience being a substitute teacher, I thought I would share with you what I would want to see in your classroom.

1. Normalcy- The one thing I don't want to see is a day full of worksheets because you don't know if I can handle your class on a normal day. Changing things around only makes kids anxious, and when they get anxious so do the subs.

2.A class list that stays in the classroom. The attendance that you send to the office isn't enough. Name tags fall off, name plates on the tables rip off, and children think it's funny when they sit in someone else's seat. Sometimes kids wont talk to someone they don't know, and being able to use their name will make them feel more comfortable. And sometimes I have trouble understanding those little voices.

Here is a great idea.

3.A schedule of your day with times attached.

4.A list of everyday songs with the words. Routines are important, so if you sing a song everyday, I want to sing that song. I take this one with me.
                               2 little hands go clap, clap, clap.
                               2 little feet go tap, tap, tap.
                               2 little hands go thump, thump, thump.
                               2 little feet go jump, jump, jump.
                               1 little body turns around.
                               1 little child sits quietly down.

5.All materials necessary to complete the activities on your lesson plans. Including books, supplies, papers, CD's. I love it when teachers use post it notes on stacks that label each activity. This way if the lesson plan is a little confusing, I can go to the stacks of stuff. Now if this is an unexpected absent then it would be hard to have this planned out, but a list of where items are usually would be helpful. If you need wipe off markers and can't find them, how can you use the wipe off board.

I would always have a simple activity planned that would only be used if a sub would come in.

I make a paper with dried tempera paint on it. All you need is water and paint brush, and you have an instant art activity.

Leave your classes favorite book for the sub to read

6.An explanation of how you do activities. Many times I have started centers and the kids say "I did this one yesterday, you have to move them". Well then they go on to tell you, "move the names up, no move them down, no I didn't do this one yesterday". Yeah, lots of stress going on there. Also, knowing what the children are suppose to do in each center would be helpful.   I know very well the students are not suppose to be throwing the magnetic letters on the board, but there were no instructions and I can't stand over those 2 kids the whole time and ask them to spell this word.

How do you sharpen pencils?
How do you get kids' attention? clap, ring bell, sing song, say chant?
How do you chose jobs?
What do you do at calendar time?
Where do kids put their book bags, lunch boxes, homework?
How do you go to the bathroom?
How do you dismiss the kids?
What are the rules for going outside? In Ohio going outside at 40 degrees is normal. Down here, they don't
                           go outside if it is 40 degrees.
What do you do when you can't go outside?
What do kids do when a rule is broken?
Where do your kids sit at lunch or at dismissal?
What do you do when a child gets hurt?
Do kids need lunch tickets or passes to go to the office?
How do you use those electronic devices some of us have never seen? I even had trouble finding the VCR
                          in one room, because it was in a cabinet.

Do not leave these answers up to the kids. Every one will have a different answer.

If you want to make a substitute folder, go here. You will find everything you need.

7.The names of those special students. I know you don't want to label a child before a sub gets to know them, but when you know what you are dealing with ahead of time, you can deal with it. If I know this child is ADD not just a trouble maker then I can deal with it. If I know this child cries every time her mom leave, I can deal with it. If I know this student will always tell me what should be going on, then I know who to turn to. The day should not be a guessing game. A substitute is only in your room for one day. Why not make it easier.

8.Extras- extra books, extra paper, extra game, extra activities, extra music
Sometimes the day goes by a lot faster than expected. Kids love to be read to. Kids love to color. Kids love to sing and dance.

9.The name and room number of the teacher that can best help with any problems. Tell the teachers in the next classroom where you keep your sub folder, your lesson plans, your supplies. I am going to ask for help when I need it. I might as well go right to the best source.

10.What should I do before I leave? Does the trash need to be taken out in the hallway, chairs on desks, papers taken to office? I want to leave the room ready for you when you return.

Matt Damon on education

2011-08-03T12:31:00.000-05:00

I Love this guy.

Find out what he says that probably made his teachers cry.

More free printables

2011-07-31T19:18:00.000-05:00

Here are some more printables. I am providing these because the people who make them are very talented. If any are repeats, I apologize.

Mr. Printable- kind of says it all. games, letter cards, number cards, worksheets for older kids

Preschool printables- theme oriented colored printables

2 Teaching Mommies- large theme unit printables including holidays, seasons, about me, community

Our Little Monkeys- neat themes outdoors, pilots, bakers, tools, cars, cat in hat, April showers

File folder games

Literacy printables- make your own worksheets- I will use them for these=letter cards, make your own dominoes, follow me games

Pocket Full of Posies- numbers, letter tracing, size sorting, others

Tools for Educators- make your own dice, game boards, dominoes, Bingo games, vocabulary (even for other languages)

Tired, need sleep- build a letter, other letter related stuff, and math printables

Stick name puzzle

2011-07-29T18:20:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you've seen these stick puzzles floating around. They are cute, 3D, and easy to make. This is another version using the child's name as the puzzle.

First step is to tape the sticks (fat sticks work better) together using the same number of sticks as number of letters in the child's name.

Write child's name or put stickers to spell child's name on sticks.

Glue picture on stick. You can add modge podge. Then cut the pieces apart. You can then put the pieces in a baggy labeled with the child's name.

Literacy Center- Letter Work

2011-07-29T14:11:00.009-05:00

     I was attempting to show all the literacy center ideas as on post, but it has become a very large and long post. Therefor I am going to show you one center at a time.

Some things to remember about centers.
     Centers need to be ever changing. Repetition is good. Kids learn exactly how to use the materials, but if you use the same materials day after day, week after week, month after month, the children will get bored and become a behavior problem.
     Centers should be mostly independent. This way you as the teacher can facilitate, solve behavior problems, have small groups, and perform assessment.
     Centers may seem like play to children, but they should be organized and purposeful.

Letter Work provides children with multiple opportunities to play with letters.

Connect Game- you will need plastic link toys (fine motor) and a set of upper case letters and lower case letters. Children then match the upper to lower case letter. You could use flash cards and punch a hole in each one or use one of these resources for letter cards. These could be put into a basket and pulled out on the table during center time.

here is letters with some pictures that represent the letter

Upper case and lower case letters with corresponding pictures.

fish and eggs in color or black and white

Letter exploration

paint chip sand paper letters

cute fine motor and letter work

Chicka Chicka tree uses magnetic letters.

Here is a clothspin game matching upper and lower case letters

letter drawers with beginging letter items- I have lots of these with words also. They are easy to make. Just collect little toys. Put them in a drawer with a card with the letter it begins with or the word.

simple and colorful letters made from pipe cleaners

geo board letter mats

finding the alphabet game

making cute magnetic letters

magnetic stone letters

Fabric magnet letters

more cute DIY letters

rag quilt letters

I like how she used words to make a letter sound matching game here.

Here are neat color printable worksheets that could be addapted for centers.

Here is a cute way to practice writing letters

I love this teachers centers- here are a few upper case and lower case sorting printables

Here is a letter sound cut and paste along with other ideas.

These are just a few ideas for a center that exposes children to letters. Do you have any neat ideas you would like to share?

edible crayons

2011-07-28T19:00:00.001-05:00

I have been waiting forever to make these but just couldn't figure out when and for whom. This is where I saw the idea for edible crayons. I had problems printing the wrappers, so I wasted a lot of paper. Use your print preview to find the page to print if you are having trouble too. The color words did not print out. They still look cute. I decided I will make them for all the teachers at my daughters new school. There are a lot of teachers, so I decided to make a bunch for everyone instead of individual ones. I thought you might like to see them before school starts, so you can decide if you want to try them.

These are what Teaching Heart Mom's looked like.
I am doing a few things different because ingredients are just harder to find here. I am using pretzel rods and breaking them in half instead of twisty pretzels. I also could not find already colored candies. So, I bought a huge block of white vanilla candy, and I'll put food coloring in it. I'm sure the colored ones will have much brighter.

Next I went to making a box to hold all the crayons I would make. I used a cereal box. Cut it in have, then cut the top down the sides so I could fold them in. Glue gun worked best. Then you need to cut it in the middle on 3 sides, so it will fold back. It was starting to rip, so I reinforced it with some book tape. I will put a sheet of wax paper on the inside to protect the food.

I tried to cover it with paper like a present and then glue. Well that didn't work out so well. The glue soaked through too much. I then tried card stock, cutting it the sizes of each side. That worked much better, but if I was going to do multiples, I would try using contact paper or those sticky book covers that come in many colors.

I wanted to use scrap booking stickers to spell Crayola, but couldn't find the size and color I wanted, so I just used my good old Crayola markers to write it. Then, I used the extra lines from the wrappers I printed out wrong as decoration and some scrap booking line stickers to add some color.

If you want to make individuals, like for all the kids in your child's class, I would recommend finding a print out and putting it on card stock. I found lots when I was looking.

I wrote this poem to put on the back of the box.

Welcome back to a new school year.
Time to rush but have no fear.
Plan, set up, and decorate.
The kids will be ready on the first school date.

Though it may get a bit stressful for you,
Try to remember DO NOT eat the glue.
Before you know it, the year will be gone.
So go ahead and taste a crayon.

Here are some other crayon related activities, incase you are giving them to your class.
colored crayon box templateI might be trying these too.

Here is another adorable back to school gift. A list of ingredients here.
clip art and stuff

My book writing

2011-07-27T17:55:00.000-05:00

     One of my hobbies, since college has been writing. I started writing about my family, but once I discovered the world of children's books, I have always wanted to write one. I have written a few, but when I tried to get it published, it was just a lot more work than you can imagine. So, now I just write. One day, maybe, I will find the time to branch out and try the published way.

     Here is some of the book I have been working on. It was inspired by a few of my favorite books by Alyssa Capucilli and illustrated by Ted Arnold. Inside a Zoo in the City and Inside a House that is Haunted. They kind of copy the House that Jack Built idea. Alyssa Capucilli also wrote some popular books about Biscuit. I did not know that. I also saw some other Scholastic books that I have used in my classroom. Here is her website.

     Please let me know what you think. I was trying to get all the things we do during our school day into rhyme and rhythm. If you have read these books before you know they are very repetitive, so if you want to read the whole story just skip down to where it says last page.

This Is the School That I Go To

This is the door where I say good bye                       To my mom and my dad and sister, too.
                                  Outside the school that I go to.

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall                    with pictures and signs all along the wall.
                                   Inside the school that I go to.

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things.            Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
                                   Inside the school that I go to.

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things. Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
Where my teacher waits with a smile and a hug,             then tells us to sit down on the rug.
                                  Inside the school that I go to.

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things. Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
Where my teacher waits with a smile and a hug, then tells us to sit down on the rug.
Eyes focus, hands still, ears listening, legs bend            with my bottom flat, I'll sit next to my friend.
                                   Inside the school that I go to.

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things. Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
Where my teacher waits with a smile and a hug, then tells us to sit down on the rug.
Eyes focus, hands still, ears listening, legs bend, with my bottom flat, I'll sit next to my friend.
Next, our spot on the rug is where we look,                so we can choose jobs and listen to a book.
                                  Inside the school that I go to.

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things. Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
Where my teacher waits with a smile and a hug, then tells us to sit down on the rug.
Eyes focus, hands still, ears listening, legs bend, with my bottom flat, I'll sit next to my friend.
Next, our spot on the rug is where we look, so we can choose jobs and listen to a book.
Then to my table where I color and write.                      My picture will hang on the fridge tonight.
                                    Inside the school that I go to.

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things. Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
Where my teacher waits with a smile and a hug, then tells us to sit down on the rug.
Eyes focus, hands still, ears listening, legs bend, with my bottom flat, I'll sit next to my friend.
Next, our spot on the rug is where we look, so we can choose jobs and listen to a book.
Then to the table where I color and write.  My picture will hang on the fridge tonight.
The lunchroom is where we eat and drink.                     Mom packed a fun lunch for me, I think.
                                              Inside the school that I go to.

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things. Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
Where my teacher waits with a smile and a hug, then tells us to sit down on the rug.
Eyes focus, hands still, ears listening, legs bend, with my bottom flat, I'll sit next to my friend.
Next, our spot on the rug is where we look, so we can choose jobs and listen to a book.
Then to the table where I color and write.  My picture will hang on the fridge tonight.
The lunchroom is where we eat and drink. Mom packed a fun lunch for me, I think.
There's lots to do when we play outside.                  But, my favorite is to slide on the slide.
                                    Outside the school that I go to.

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things. Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
Where my teacher waits with a smile and a hug, then tells us to sit down on the rug.
Eyes focus, hands still, ears listening, legs bend, with my bottom flat, I'll sit next to my friend.
Next, our spot on the rug is where we look, so we can choose jobs and listen to a book.
Then to the table where I color and write.  My picture will hang on the fridge tonight.
The lunchroom is where we eat and drink. Mom packed a fun lunch for me, I think.
There's lots to do when we play outside.  But, my favorite is to slide on the slide.
We paint and build and read some more.                   Here counting and singing is never a bore.
                                         Inside the school that I go to

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things. Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
Where my teacher waits with a smile and a hug, then tells us to sit down on the rug.
Eyes focus, hands still, ears listening, legs bend, with my bottom flat, I'll sit next to my friend.
Next, our spot on the rug is where we look, so we can choose jobs and listen to a book.
Then to the table where I color and write.  My picture will hang on the fridge tonight.
The lunchroom is where we eat and drink. Mom packed a fun lunch for me, I think.
There's lots to do when we play outside.  But, my favorite is to slide on the slide.
We paint and build and read some more.  Here counting and singing is never a bore.
Clean up, put things where they were before.                      It's time for us to line up at the door.
                                             Inside the school that I go to.

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things. Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
Where my teacher waits with a smile and a hug, then tells us to sit down on the rug.
Eyes focus, hands still, ears listening, legs bend, with my bottom flat, I'll sit next to my friend.
Next, our spot on the rug is where we look, so we can choose jobs and listen to a book.
Then to the table where I color and write.  My picture will hang on the fridge tonight.
The lunchroom is where we eat and drink. Mom packed a fun lunch for me, I think.
There's lots to do when we play outside.  But, my favorite is to slide on the slide.
We paint and build and read some more.  Here counting and singing is never a bore.
Clean up, put things where they were before. It's time for us to line up at the door.
Where we hold our bags and stand still and straight.           Get everything you need 'cause it's getting late.
                                                  Inside the school that I go to.

This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things. Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
Where my teacher waits with a smile and a hug, then tells us to sit down on the rug.
Eyes focus, hands still, ears listening, legs bend, with my bottom flat, I'll sit next to my friend.
Next, our spot on the rug is where we look, so we can choose jobs and listen to a book.
Then to the table where I color and write.  My picture will hang on the fridge tonight.
The lunchroom is where we eat and drink. Mom packed a fun lunch for me, I think.
There's lots to do when we play outside.  But, my favorite is to slide on the slide.
We paint and build and read some more.  Here counting and singing is never a bore.
Clean up, put things where they were before. It's time for us to line up at the door.
Where we hold our bags and stand still and straight. Get everything you need 'cause it's getting late.
I learned many things but today is done                               But, I'll come back tomorrow to have more fun.
                                     Inside the school that I go to.

LAST PAGE
This is the door where I say good bye, to my mom and my dad and sister, too.
that opens to the hallway so long and tall, with pictures and signs all along the wall.
that leads to the classroom with so many things. Where I'll hang up the book bag I bring.
Where my teacher waits with a smile and a hug, then tells us to sit down on the rug.
Eyes focus, hands still, ears listening, legs bend, with my bottom flat, I'll sit next to my friend.
Next, our spot on the rug is where we look, so we can choose jobs and listen to a book.
Then to the table where I color and write.  My picture will hang on the fridge tonight.
The lunchroom is where we eat and drink. Mom packed a fun lunch for me, I think.
There's lots to do when we play outside.  But, my favorite is to slide on the slide.
We paint and build and read some more.  Here counting and singing is never a bore.
Clean up, put things where they were before. It's time for us to line up at the door.
Where we hold our bags and stand still and straight. Get everything you need 'cause it's getting late.
I learned many things but today is done.  But I'll come back tomorrow to have more fun.
We walk down the hallway, that leads to the door, that opens to my mom and dad and sister too.
                                       Outside the school that I go to.

Creative useful storage seats

2011-07-25T22:18:00.000-05:00

These are one of the cutest things I have ever seen. I want them for my house. It would be so easy to store toys inside, and it is still a seat for a little one.

storage and seat
Everyone that has made them says they are sturdy and have lasted through at least 1 full school year. I guess it is a great time to buy these crates too.

Free Printables

2011-07-22T14:04:00.000-05:00

Since I'm still hoping to find a job soon, I thought I would organize some more of my favorites. All these sites offer free printables. I would be willing to share any of mine, but I'm not sure how to put them on here. So if you want something just let me know and I'll email it to you.

classroom printables from prekinders

cute center signs and a neat sub folder

prekinder also has lots of other printables by theme, by subject, music

this was my favorite

classroom signs from ABC Teach

1+1+1=1

has preschool themed activities all included in one folder. She offers colored games, puzzles, letter cards, little books, playdo letter and word mats

Tot Packs from 1+1+1=1 are suppose to be for toddlers but are easily adaptable.

Even more fun stuff from 1+1+1=1

And another preschool pack site is home school creations

DLTK

mini book for letters and other stuff. You can even make a custom book for your child.

making learning fun has printables to go with all kinds of books like bingo dots pages, magnet letters, and recipe cards

Sparkle box

the site is a little overwhelming but you will find something you like. Just type a word in the search box or use tabs at the top.

Labels, signs, picture cards, a special ed section

writing templates like wanted posters, menus, newspapers, passports, and more.

our worldwide classroom has some cute Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, and language arts activities

for discovery bottles and other cute printables

kizclub has black and white and colored printables. Letters, story props, and themes.

chore-charts (jobs)

Dotters

2011-07-21T13:42:00.000-05:00

Deborah at Teach Preschool made some dot dabbers (also called bingo dots) for her school. I have always loved these and bought a colored set of washable ones at the local teacher store. They are very expensive, and when one child tries to use it like a paint brush, the little sponge comes off. They have non washable ones at the Dollar Tree, but that can get you into some trouble. I have seen refillable ones at the teacher store but never bought them. Deborah says they didn't work out the way she wanted, so she made her own. You can see them here.
As I was looking through my cabinet, I saw this bottle of formula which I am not using because I am breast feeding. They are the premade ready to use by just putting on the nipple. I'm not sure if they sell them like this or if they just give them away at the hospital. But they looked perfect. And many people use formula, and if you know someone that works at the hospital, I think this is what they use.

The lid already has a hole in it so you can just put the sponge in it and screw it shut.

The opening is a little bigger than a regular dotter. I used a scrub sponge which let too much paint out, so I will be looking for the make up sponges Deborah used.

My daughter still liked using it even though it was really watery and came out too fast. The good thing is this way the sponge doesn't break off. Even if it did, you just replace it and don't have to buy new ones.

Process Vs. Product

2011-07-18T08:53:00.000-05:00

Every teacher will say "It's the process not the product." So why do we have such cute art projects? They go with the theme. They help with following directions. The parents like them. Okay, but what about the child?(It hit me when we saw a real jelly fish at the beach, and it looks nothing like the streamer ones we always make during our ocean theme)

Shaving cream

rainbow fish

I have been torn many times over the art project in my own classroom.

So my decision was to offer a project bu not force the child to do it. I provided many other types of activities that would attract children and focus on learning skills through play. Then the parents complained they didn't have anything to put on the fridge.

markers on coffee filter then spray with water

butterfly

So I have tried to come up with ways to give the child the process but also give the parent a product.

String printing

ice cream cone

Using materials you would like children to experience, you can make anything that goes along with your theme.

Be creative and allow the children to experience the process without worrying about how their product doesn't look like yours.

So how do you use the process for children to make a product for parents?

Beachfront Learning

2011-07-15T16:43:00.000-05:00

For our vacation, we stayed at a beach here in Texas. In the past we have visited a beach in Florida, so we were anxious to compare the Golf beach to the ocean. It became a learning adventure. Well, any vacation can be a learning adventure if you encourage talking.

First, we traveled across a Ferry. New vocabulary. And saw some familiar animals.

And some new yet scary animals. This is a jellyfish. Nothing like our craft jellyfish, huh?

We found some plants.

We dug (digged) holes, buried treasure, and dug again.

All the while we used very descriptive words, like bumpy, smooth, muddy, etc.

We made marks and found marks for treasure. X marks the spot.

Found and made prints. This was her hands, but she was imitating the bird footprints we saw.

Building castles. Okay we did not build this one.

Writing names in the sand.

Making shadows.

Comparing seashells we found. They were a little different than ones we found in Florida.

The amount of vocabulary that comes from an experience like this is amazing. During our trip we touched on every subject you might learn about in school. Such as compare and contrast, the science of waves, the sun, and animals, cause and effect relationships, letters, shapes, colors.

Cutting straws for fine motor

2011-07-10T23:05:00.000-05:00

One of the activities I do at the beginning of the year for introducing scissors and gaining fine motor control is cutting drinking straws. They are very easy to hold while using scissors. Children also can't use both hands on the scissors. We found these colorful striped straws at the Dollar Tree. I usually put lots of straws in a big tub with 2 or 3 pairs of scissor. You could give each child a bag to cut the straws into, but I just asked the kids to pick up any straws on the floor. It was part of the fun. This time, I gave my daughter an empty baby wipe container to try to contain the mess. The cut straws tend to fly when cut. After all the straws are cut, you can have the kids string them for more fine motor practice.

Water table colors

2011-07-10T18:16:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is a baby bathtub. We don't have room for a water table so this works for now.

My daughter had notice, while helping wash dishes, that her cups tinted the water the color of the cup. And, when you put 2 colored cups together they make another color.

We had lots of colored water balloons left over from a failed experiment earlier. So, we put them in the water table to try and mix colors with these child sippy cups.

First, she just liked matching the balloons to the same color cup.

Then some color mixing. Some showed only a little color change.

Others, showed a real noticeable change.

Then, to the pouring and spraying with a spray bottle.

She liked the way spray sounded on the balloon.

Well, we are off to the beach for a short vacation. See you when we return with some beach creativity.

Rice on a pan

2011-07-09T21:23:00.000-05:00

Some of you have probably heard of sand on a pan. This is colored rice on a pan.

This supports fine motor skills by encouraging children to use their pointer finger to make shapes, letters, or numbers. It is a very tactile activity. My daughter loved the way it felt on her fingers.

Parent Involvement

2011-07-07T23:49:00.000-05:00

How do you involve parents in your class?

     Parent involvement is a major factor in school success: and no I don't mean homework. Head Starts have a parent involvement requirement. Since it is so important, how do we encourage parents to get more involved in their young child's education? Many parents work and don't have the free time to come visit the classroom like they may want. Here are a few ideas.

Make Parents Feel Welcome!
     I have heard of many teachers who do not want parents to come in because their children do not act the same when they are around. So, they shut their doors and have parents only come in on certain days and times. How would that make you feel? Instead, you could have activities planned ahead that parents can sit down and do with children throughout the day. I have a parent helper folder that parents can choose a game or activity.
Parent Folder
     We have plays or programs that parents are invited to throughout the year. Mother's day breakfast and father's day fun will bring parents in. Make sure you plan these activities during more convenient times, such as when kids first come in or the last 20 minutes of the day. If parents work it is easier to get off early or come in a little later than get off in the middle of the day.

One teacher had a guest reader in her room every Friday. The family member could choose a book and read it to the class. And, the child got to share their family member- proud child= proud parent

Make Parents Feel Useful!
Ask parents about their talents, occupations, and gifts. I put this question on my information sheet I ask parents to fill out about their child at the beginning of the year.
Use them- Is that parent a doctor or nurse, we have donations of syringes (without the needles), gloves, booties, hats, even pretend blood specimens.

This mom worked at a local medical school. She brought med students and actuallolds can say they saw or touched a real brain or a compared a healthy heart to an unhealthy heart? 12 of mine have and all the office staff.
Do you have a parent who knows how to sew? Since I dont- they can mend dress up cloths or make games like these fun cloth letters from Oh so happy together.

We even had one mom make costumes for a play we did.
Do you have a parent who builds or does woodworking? I have recruited my dad to make puzzles, wooden gifts, or even little wooden cars. You can check out his creative wood art at Scrolling Art by Belcher
What about the police officers, firefighters- my dad let me borrow his uniform to try on- its less frightening when the teacher or someones mom or dad tries on the uniform than a complete stranger.
Here he is in his uniform.

Make Parents Feel Involved!
     Even though parents can’t physically come in the classroom they can participate at home with take home activities. I have a book bag. It has a book and a stuffed animal that is a character from the book. Mostly supplied by Kohl’s Cares for Kids $5 books, they are hard back books and usually have a stuffed animal that goes with the book. Children get a turn to take home the book bag and read the book with their parents.
I have heard of some people who send home a stuffed animal with a journal. The child writes about the time he or she spends with the stuffed animal.
     I also have games I send home which deal with a specific skill. I have a label around the house bag. It has labels and tape included so the family can label all the things in the house. It helps with reading skills
I have a surprise box, you can see the my post on how this works.
     I have an art project about once a month, usually going along with holidays that gets sent home. At Thanksgiving, children take home a turkey feather to decorate.  When they bring it back, we make it into a turkey. Each project turns out unique even when they start out with the same materials. At Christmas I send home a tree light shape and hang them up down the hallway. In January 3 sizes of paper doilies are sent home to make a snowman.

Here are a few. Sorry this is a picture of a picture.

February is a candy heart, Spring is Easter Egg for the basket, then a flower for the garden.

Make Parents Feel Important!
Most schools have parent teacher conferences, make phone calls, and send home notes. Make sure you are keeping a majority of these experiences positive in order to keep the relationship positive. You have to be open to the needs of the parents by being a good listener. Do all your parents speak English? Do they have young children at home preventing them from helping? Are they just not sure what they should do?
Ask yourself why before you assume parents don't want to be involved. You have their most precious item. And, they have trusted in you, so trust that they want what is best for their child.

I would love to here what your ideas are for parent involvement. Please leave a comment to share.

Octavia and the Purple Ink Cloud

2011-07-07T08:51:00.000-05:00

Today we read this cute story about an octopus who just can't get her ink cloud right. It is a great story to enforce color recognition and to keep trying.

We made a Cartesian diver to represent Octavia. The pics are kind of hard to see I think because they reflect off the water. When you put a little colored water in the diver it will spit out an ink cloud just like Octavia.

How to make a Cartesian diver. Preparation takes a lot of adult preparation, but the kids love squeezing the bottle to see the ink cloud. (good for the muscles)

You need a plastic pipet.

I've gotten them in art and education stores in the science section.

(I will give you some links for using a straw and an eye dropper)

Cut the end off and put a nut on the end to weigh it down.

Now is when you may want to decorate it like an octopus. Use waterproof materials and make sure you don't cover up the hole. We used electrical tape, string, and tried permanent markers, but they weren't so permanent.

In a cup make enough colored water to cover the pipet.

Here is where you have to do some timely experimentation. Squeeze enough water into the pipet to make it barely float. Just the very tip should stick out of water. Try letting water out one bubble at a time. If it sinks you have to squeeze some water out.

Put it into a bottle of water. Seal it tight but don't glue it. You will have to take it out and redo it after a while.

When you squeeze the bottle, the octopus will dive down the bottle.

When you let go, ink will squirt out.

We tried putting blue water in the bottle and red in the diver to make it purple when the ink came out but that didn't work. So I would stick to just putting purple in the pipet. I have found that 2 liter bottles are too hard for little hands to squeeze. This water bottle was perfect for squeezing but makes it hard to see because of the bumps. I would suggest trying to find a small smooth bottle

Here will show both how to use a straw and medicine dropper.

Hands on alphabet

2011-07-05T10:09:00.000-05:00

One of the goals in preschool is letter recognition. Many children at this age just don't have the fine motor strength to write the letters yet, so here is a very tactile way to use letters.

These letters are made out of cross stitching plastic. It comes in all colors and very bright ones, too.

I drew and cut the letters free hand, but I would like to see if the Ellison machine would cut it or at least trace the cut outs. Mine are very big and not very uniform.

All the kids need to do is put it under a paper and rub with crayon. It will even work if the child doesn't put the crayon on its side.

Even if the letter doesn't turn out right, they still had the experience with the way the letter feels. And the kids will sit for a long time doing this.

The Chick and the Duckling

2011-07-03T10:26:00.000-05:00

I love taking a book and finding ways to use it throughout day and throughout the other subjects. I have found science to be the easiest and most creative. So here is a couple of fun things to do with the book The Chick and the Duckling.

It is a cute little book about a Duckling and a chick who have hatched and become friends. The chick does everything the duckling does and responds "Me, Too". This makes a great shared reading experience when the kids join in.

The Duckling

The Chick (filled with water)

We made our predictions. In the classroom, I would have more of these pre-made items and have a cookie sheet for the prediction sheet and the "what happened" sheet. I allowed my daughter to choose other items which is harder to do in the classroom.

Here is the checklist of items she made of items she wanted to try. I didn't encourage this, but what a great idea to incorporate writing. It would be easy to add a clipboard and pencils to the science center for children to write.

The experiment (stick, spoon, block, rock, bottle cap, Popsicle stick)

Results

This is a Cartesian diver game where the duckling goes down to pickup the chick. It's hard to see because everything is yellow. Maybe if I had used a smooth bottle, it would have been better.

Here is the chick and the duckling out of the water

I'll show you how to make a Cartesian diver next time with another book activity.

Until then, I would love to here what your favorite books and activities are. Please share.

Eric Carle and The Very Hungry Caterpillar

2011-07-02T22:31:00.004-05:00

I'm sharing some fun Eric Carle activities that can be used with the The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It has been one of my favorite children's books. I read it every year in the spring when we order real caterpillars. It explains the life cycle of a butterfly by using the beautiful artwork of Eric Carle. I do, however, read the story and change the word cocoon to chrysalis. Because I am reading it for the science content. I have been to Eric Carle's website, and it does explain why he uses the word that is scientifically incorrect. Art over Science. Do you change the word as you read the book?

This is so far my favorite idea to try. It is so easy. Though I think I would have painted the head on the ope side of the bag. As you read the story, children can put each item in the bag as if the caterpillar is eating it. Great for sequencing and retelling the story. Get directions here.

Here you'll find cute retelling game using a pringles can.

C is for Caterpillar. This is Eric Carle inspired. Cute.

The Imagination Tree also does other letters and just abstract art.

Caterpillar counting. Great fine motor and number skill practice.

I Can Teach My Child made this from a pool noodle.

Caterpillar Bingo! Fun!

Thanks Teaching and Learning with Preschoolers!

Here they used balloons to make the cutest caterpillar. Holding balloons in this way can help with muscle control. Here is another balloon caterpillar.

One of the cutest things I've seen. From All Things Children.

Prekinder made this

1+1=1 has a lot of neat ideas in her Preschool Pack

Large scale caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Song

Here is another song

Using Eric Carle style art.

Here is a class size caterpillar and other ideas with Eric Carle

Here is cute caterpillar with a paper towel roll.

Even more Eric Carle activities

Use a wipe off board to retell story

Cute edible caterpillar and egg carton caterpillar and leaf lacing

String Stamping

2011-07-02T16:09:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun making the cone for our ice cream cone that we decided to do some more printing with string.

First, wrap yarn or string around a box or block. I did this one because I wanted the criss cross for the cone, but it would be neat to let the child come up with the pattern.

Spread paint on a plate.

And print. It made the neatest prints. My daughter chose to put all the prints in a straight line. I would like to see what it looks like all mixed up. Maybe colors will mix or make an overlapping pattern. Maybe we could try different kinds of string to see what kind of patterns they would make. Our string had kind of balls along the yarn. Maybe many layers of string will make a different kind of pattern. Either way, this is one my daughter will do again.

Magnetic Very Hungry Caterpillar

2011-06-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

For Eric Carle's birthday on June 25, a large number of ideas to do with his books were posted. Since I liked so many of them I thought I would organize them here.

First I'll share something I made when I was in college using colored magnet sheets and computer print outs. All the pieces didn't make it through the move and my 2 year old but you get the idea.

The lollipop which was real melted and the tissue paper butterfly is missing, but they are easy to make.

If your interested in making a set, they make printable magnet sheets now or just print out on paper, laminate, and put a magnet on the back.

Here are some neat printable sites

1+1=1

DLTK

Pretend corn on the cob

2011-06-29T07:34:00.000-05:00

Corn on the cob is the only vegetable my child will eat now that she has gone into super picky mode. And, since you can get great sales in the summer we eat it a lot. Needless to say she liked making it too. I think you need to start out this project by feeling the texture of real corn with husks. Let them shuck it and describe it. A lot of vocabulary can come out of a simple daily activity.

Supplies you'll need

Toilet paper tube

yellow paint

bubble wrap

yellow yarn, string or pipe cleaners

green material or foam

glue gun

stapler

Start by painting bubble wrap yellow. Mine is dark because all I had was black and I'm all about using what you have before going out and buying something.

When dry glue it to the toilet paper tube. Now, you have the shape and texture of corn. My daughter loved playing with it that way but I thought it would be fun to be able to peel it.

We added some pipe cleaners. Yarn would work, too.

Then we added this green material for husks. Foam would have worked better, but my daughter wanted to use this textured material, and it will be her toy.

Check out our ice cream, popsicle, and watermelon we already made and stop back in a couple weeks to see S'mores. We are going to make real S'mores first on our beach vacation.

Until then we will be doing some other fun things.

Pretend Watermelon

2011-06-28T11:12:00.000-05:00

Watermelons went on sale this week, so we got a large one, cut it open, and enjoyed the summer food. My daughter loves watermelon but hates the seeds. For our summer kitchen area, we have already made ice cream and Popsicles, so here is our watermelon.

First paint a paper green whatever way you want.

We tried Lego's and fingers and then just went with a paint brush. My daughter doesn't like getting messy anymore.

Paint a paper red and add seeds.

I had this perfect piece of cardboard off a box, so I just cut and glue paper on front and back. It reminds me of Eric Carle's paintings and the Very Hungry Caterpillar's dinner.

Check back tomorrow for corn on the cob.

Summer food craft

2011-06-27T17:02:00.000-05:00

Since it's summer, we are eating some of the traditional summer foods. I thought we could make some to have in our kitchen area. Today we made an ice cream cone.

First paint a square paper the color ice cream you want. I would suggest water colors. I used tempera and it just made the paper harder to fold. My daughter likes this rainbow ice cream that stains wonderfully. So she painted her ice cream many colors, especially blue.

Then follow these directions here to make it into a ball.

Next we painted a brown paper with brown paint by using this box wrapped with yarn.

Like this.

Roll it into a cone. There you have an inedible ice cream. But fun to play with.

I think it will be fun to make a bunch of scoops and let her use the ice cream scooper to put them in the cone. Maybe we will make an ice cream truck.

Here is another favorite summer treat.

It is a toilet paper tube painted then stapled in the middle. Her favorite flavor, blue.

Come back later for corn on the cob, watermelon, and S'mores.

The Importance of Play Dough

2011-06-26T11:21:00.005-05:00

Did you know the original Playdoh was suppose to be wallpaper cleaner?

And, that it was invented in 1956 and only came in off white color?
And, that 700 million pounds of Playdoh have been sold since then? Wow!
And, that National Playdoh Day is September 18?

In my preschool classroom, the students always have access to play dough during their play times. I have found that it is important for teachers to offer it daily for the following reasons.

1. Parents don't always allow it at home mostly because it is messy.

2. It is a great fine motor and hand muscle exercises. Molding, cutting, pushing, rolling all help little muscle and can even get out a little aggression.

3. It can help improve social skills as student work together.

4. Students can work on letter recognition by using cookie cutter letters or rolling dough into a worm to form letter. Here is some neat play dough letter mats. from 1+1=1 and more here

5. Children use problem solving skills by exploring the properties of the dough.

6. Pay dough encourages creativity.

yes, this is our gingerbread girl with a Christmas tree dress. My daughter also added texture to her dress with a seashell.

Here is an NAEYC article showing how play dough meets learning standards.

TOOLS- rolling pins, hammer. blocks, cookie cutters, scissors, knives, store bought play sets (my favs are dentist and hair cutting).

ADD INS- food coloring, kool-aid for color and smell, peppermint sent (fun at Christmas time), other familiar smells, textures like coffee, glitter, beads

RECIPES- you have to experiment to find the recipe you like best. I like the cooked recipe using cream of tartar but many teachers like the no cook recipe so they can make it with the class.

here are lots of recipes
yummy recipes including chocolate and pumpkin pie

NEAT LINKS- here are a couple of cute ideas I recently found

Galaxy Playdough

cute aliens
cinnamon sparkle play dough
and black spartkle play dough
nature prints
Tips for using play dough

Playdough cookies
Potato Head Playdo

If you have a fun or unique idea you use with playdough, please share it.

Creativity and teacher help

2011-06-24T12:25:00.000-05:00

My thoughts exactly. Well, actually someone else's words. Check out the link below. The more we try to produce artwork instead of a well rounded child, the more pretty pictures and uninterested students we will have. Pretty pictures are great memories but don't forget to allow the children to explore. It's as easy as allowing children to paint their own picture or hand prints before you do it for them.

Teach Preschool on adult participation

4th of July Fireworks

2011-06-21T19:57:00.001-05:00

When you work with young children, you have to remember things don't always turn out the way they were planned. Then, you add in a new supply, which makes things even more difficult. That was today. First, I wanted to try spraying with water color paint. I tried using old markers to tint the water. I saw it somewhere.

Great for recycling but it didn't show up on the paper very well.

It just got the paper wet.

Then, I added food coloring to water. That helped, but just wasn't giving the firework affect. I have done this with watered down paint and it does work, but I was hoping to do something different.

So I found this funny thing still in its wrapper. I think it is a vegetable washer.

I just put paint on a plate. And found some glitter glue.

Perfect!

Then she made another one with people watching. Look at the cute little people.

And as most projects end up with 4 year olds.

I thought we had just done enough with color mixing.

here are some other great holiday activities

Felt board pieces

2011-06-19T23:22:00.004-05:00

Ever since I saw this post on how simple it is to make professional looking felt board pieces by using your printer I have been dieing to try it. Alas, my printer is out of ink and I don't actually own an iron. So while I work on getting those things, I thought you might like to see the thing I found to help you make your own flannels.

babyjaynes.com

Once you've bought the paper, I got mine at Walmart,

Try these sites for free printables. If you find something that you think might make a good flannel board piece please let me know.

All kinds of stories, but my favorites are Brown Bear Brown Bear, Polar Bear Polar Bear, and the Hungry Caterpillar- they are quite big so I saved them to a word program and shrunk them a bit

Leo Lionni's mouse -it's suppose to be a stick puppet but I think it would work great.

tons of paper dolls- my daughter loves dressing the one girl flannel I have with the few cloths I have.

more paper dolls

Go Away Big Green Monster- put the monster together

Monster Maker

Monkey with Hats

lots of book prompts

even more book prompts- including chicka chicka, Dr Seuss, 5 Little Monkeys, Spilt milk, the old lady who swallowed a fly, Mouse Paint, and more, if you don't find it there try here

The Three Little Pigs, 5 monkeys, apples, and pumpkins

You also might want to check your favorite book's and author's web site. Many of them allow you to print their characters.

If you would prefer to buy them or need something unique try here. Prices seemed reasonable.

DIY projects

2011-06-19T12:33:00.001-05:00

Since I haven't had a lot of time to prepare something fun to blog about, I thought I would get my favorites organized. These are all ideas and links of do-it-yourself projects I would like to try one day.
Thanks to everyone for sharing your great ideas.

Although the containers are beautiful, they are covered in chalkboard paint, homemade. You can make it in any color.

DIY chalkboard paint recipe

Cute as can be made from a card board box.

Dressing table directions here.

Simple and easily stored because it rolls up.

kitchen playmat directions

Other DIY kitchens

These are in the process, but printer is out of ink.

I Spy Mats

Cute and colorful.

Velcro blocks

This has always been on my to-do list. Ten years running.

Ideas here

Hopefully, I can write backwards.

Also, perfect for special ed.

Name stamps

Colored alphabet pasta

Moon Sand

Colored sand

Magic Paint

DIY Light Table and color disks.

And here are some more DIY stuff

egg carton bulletin board

texture boards and here are more

edible paint

water play board and window easel

Teach Preschool has amazing ideas I always love.

cute crayon holder

Surprise Box

2011-06-17T20:16:00.001-05:00

The surprise box is something I did with 4 year olds in order to reduce the need for show and tell. They can only bring something that will fit in the box and they have to think about the clues. It makes children use their critical thinking skills as well as helps children reduce fear of talking in front of others.

First you need a box you can not see through.

I tape these directions on the side.

Before I send the box home I send home a note explaining the process to parents and to allow students to come up with the clues. I also encourage them to help their children write the clues themselves. Then I send it home with each child in alphabetical order by first name.

That keeps me organized and also helps kids with the letters in the alphabet.

I do an example before I let the kids can take it home.

1. It is pink.

2. I use it in the dark.

3. It lights up.

It is a flashlight.

As the year goes, I hang up some of the clue sheets to show parents what others have been bringing in, but also to show them how they can encourage students to become more involved in the clue making process.

So you get clue sheets like this

and as the kids get better at writing this

Some kids liked giving clues the others could guess easily while others made it more difficult. All the kids enjoyed the experience

Surprise Box
Directions
Chose something to put in the box.
Write 3 clues to describe the object.
Practice saying the clues so you can
share with the class.

The things kids say

2011-06-16T20:32:00.000-05:00

The thing I love about children is there innocents. They have no fear of embarrassment or a great knowledge of social etiquette.

Today while shopping at Walmart, my husband went to the bathroom but came back right away saying there was a line in the bathroom. My daughter turned to me and said, "Is there really a lion in the bathroom, Mommy?"

While teaching 3 and 4 year olds, I would hear comments that would make me laugh all the time. I always said we should write these sayings down because everyone would love to have a laugh like that.

Do you have any funny stories like that to share?

More play with color

2011-06-16T08:40:00.000-05:00

I found this little light box that changes colors from red to blue to green at the Dollar Tree.

I made some color cards from some left over tissue paper squares and contact paper. If I were to make them again, I would use one sheet of color instead of squares.

When you hold the color cards over the light you can see some mixing of colors. Worth $1.

We also used the cards with a flashlight.

I'm always jealous when I see people with a light table. But thanks to Deborah at Teach Preschool, we can all afford one.

I will be making my own version of the light table.

DIY light table

Little Blue and Little Yellow on the light table

2011-06-14T07:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I posted our Little Blue and Little Yellow activity.
And Deborah has great timing, thanks.

I was trying to think of how to do this myself but just couldn't think of what to use. I will be trying to find colored cup and making my own light table.

http://www.teachpreschool.org/

If you like felt boards, you can find a set to go with the book here
http://www.etsy.com/listing/60379682/little-blue-and-little-yellow-flannel

Little Blue and Little Yellow

2011-06-13T13:16:00.000-05:00

We read this book by Leo Lionni about 2 friends, little blobs of color, who are different yet are the best of friends. They show all the events of their day together after accidentally squishing together becoming green during a hug.

While teaching, I would have the kids find a friend to do this art activity. I would paint one child's hand blue and one child's hand yellow. Then they squished their hands together representing the hug in the book.

Since I only have one child, we adapted it this way to make a book.

One hand was painted one color the other hand painted a different color, then rug together.

We made hand prints on paper I had printed simple words to recreate the story.

"This is Little Red. This is Little Blue. They are friends. They hugged, and hugged, and hugged. They turned Purple.

We did all the primary colors and added white to red and black.

My daughter loves singing the mixing colors song on Little fingers that play.

Rainbow fish and shaving cream marbling

2011-06-12T16:32:00.000-05:00

Rainbow fish

If you've never used shaving cream to marbleize your papers, then you must try it. It's amazing every time.

Shaving cream is one of those fun materials that kids love and the state says is not to be sprayed in front of kids. So, check with your state rules and find a way to use it. I had to spray it in the hallway or before the kids were in the classroom.

We sprayed shaving cream on a plate, you can use a tray, to contain the shaving cream. You have to let them play with it for a while. Then have them spread it out smooth and somewhat flat.

We used eye droppers to drop paint onto the shaving cream, liquid water colors work best. I didn't have any so I tried watered down washable paint and tried it with food coloring. Both worked okay.

Then, use the end of a paint brush to swirl the paint around.

Place paper on top of shaving cream pressing lightly. You can wipe the shaving cream off to get a wet marbled look.

Or, let it dry and rub off extra for a more exact copy.

We then cut out a fish shape.

Our inside flower garden

2011-06-11T14:45:00.000-05:00

Today we made a flower garden inside on the wall. At least it started as a flower garden and turned into a lot more. I usually put this on my easel at school, but we don't have one at home. The wall worked well.

We started by taping clear contact paper to the wall sticky side out.

We then took felt shapes and stuck them to the contact paper.

I wanted her to use the shapes creatively to make flowers, so I did not make any direct flower shapes.

Then she asked for a sun and clouds and rain for her garden.

The great thing about this activity is it is removable and re-doable.

If you have a large window or door with windows, check out this website for another way to use foam shapes. This one uses wet foam shapes to stick to the window.

http://www.art4littlehands.com/2011/06/foam-window-art.html

Seashells by the seashore

2011-06-06T11:13:00.002-05:00

We are preparing for a trip to the beach, so we are learning about what we might see.

The best thing about the beach is there are seashells you are aloud to take home with you.

So, I have collected a lot over the years.

I didn't find this one, but inherited it. It's great for hearing the ocean.

I made these mats from a worksheet in a mailbox magazine. They are great for containing the shell space.

Allowing children to sort shells by there own categories will come up with amazing groups. I will provide the full lesson plan with Ohio academic standards in another post.

I made this book from a pamphlet I picked up at the visitors center on the way to Florida. I keep it at the sensory table were I put 100's of shells they can play with. If you have a smaller science tub, that would work too. I just have collected too many shells to worry about them getting broke.

I also added some to our sand tub.

We put some at the playso table.

We made necklaces out of the shells that had holes in them. They are made by birds trying to eat the animal inside.

I put foam letters on some shells to make alphabet. I can see so many future activities with these as she gets older. I will find lower case letters to match, spell names, and even spell words.

Creating Names

2011-06-04T08:33:00.000-05:00

     Once children recognize their names, it is time to start introducing them to all the letters in their names. Kylie has know what a letter K is since she was 2, but was never really interested in any other letters in her name. Now she is 4, starting to write, and wants to work with letters. So I've been trying to come up with some fun creative ways to work on her name.
    As a teacher, I have my own opinion about whether you should teach upper case letters or lower case letters. Hand Writing Without Tears is a program I admire, but they recommend you teach your child all uppercase letters first because they are easier to write. From experience, I have seen too many children who already can write their names in upper case letters and then find it very hard to switch. So I teach, Your name is special, it begins with a Big letter. The rest of your name uses lower case letters. It will be your decision as a parent to teach upper or lower case.
     One of the easiest way to help a child learn how to write and spell their name is by spelling it in many ways and multiple times. You should write or have the child write their name on every paper you do. Allow them to write the letters they can do then you can write the letters they can't do yet. Make sure they can see you writing.
     Here is some games you can do to help them order their letters to make their names.

Playdo

Stamps

Milk caps

Art Project- painting with glue and salt (I recently saw this somewhere but can't remember. sorry. If you know and would share the link with me, I will post it.)

After writing with glue, pour salt

Then drop water color paint on salt. It makes a neat affect.

Stand up characters

2011-06-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

I use to make these stand up characters as game pieces using students pictures. They always turned out cute. We needed some characters for our newly made castle.

I cut out these out of her birthday wrapping paper then glued them to cardboard to make them sturdy. Then cut them out again. If you use a photograph, you don't need the cardboard.

Hot glue them to a paperclip that has been pulled apart in the shape of an L. You might have to play with the paperclip to get it to stand up. The princesses were kind of lop-sided, so it took a lot of playing with.

I even found a picture of my daughter riding a horse, then added a crown.

For storage, they can be folded flat and put in the castle box.