Educational creativity

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.

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

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 littl

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 som

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.

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 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 feathe

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)

     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, scis

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

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

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 disr

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.

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! 

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

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.

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?

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 cr

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.

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.

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)

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 ornament

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.  

     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 ju