Dr. Seuss Snacks!

This week we are celebrating Dr. Seuss.  Everyday I have a snack that the children can "make" that is related to Dr. Seuss.  It has been a huge hit!  All of them are super easy - that is my requirement!  The negative side is the sugary nature of the snacks.  Oh well, every now and then we go down that tunnel!

Cat in the Hat's Hat!

 All you need is extra large marshmallows, frosting tinted with red food coloring, and popsicle sticks.

I gave each student a spoonful of frosting in a little dixie cup.  They painted it on in stripes.  So fun!

Green Eggs

(This reminds me of when I was a girl scout leader and took my troop "camping" at Embassy Suites.  This is definitely not the same as cooking the eggs and hams but sometimes the easy way wins!

 What you need:  sugar cookies, frosting, green m&ms and popsicle sticks.  

The children spread the frosting with the popsicle stick and put the m&m in the middle.  

Truffula Trees

Love, love, love this idea!

What you need:  Mini-cupcakes, large pretzel sticks, and cotton candy.  Simply press pretzel into cupcake, and press a piece of cotton candy on top of pretzel!  The children loved this!  So dang cute!

Reflective Teaching - Free Journal!

Click on reflection page to download.

I think if there is one thing that has made the most impact on my teaching - it would be my reflective practice.  At the end of the day I always take a moment to look at how the day went.  I do not linger on my answers.  Rather, I write down what immediately comes to mind.  It does not take long to quickly review your day.  (This is also a great tool to use with student teachers in your care.)  Here are some of the benefits of a reflective practice:

• your teaching becomes more like research - learning along side the children
• attention is given to those areas that might otherwise be overlooked
• the social and emotional climate of the classroom is addressed daily
• teaching becomes more responsive to the children's current learning needs
• you will develop an more observant eye in the classroom
  

George Washington

This week we have the coolest book sharing!  One of my students was an artist model for the book, "George Washington: Our Founding Father."  His mother came to school Tuesday and read the book to the class -- keeping the secret until the end. 

Click on book to go to Amazon to read more about it.

 Student's mom reading the book to us.  The book was lovely.  

Look!  There he is!  That is the coolest thing ever!

Collaborative Groups

I have been playing with my color groups and providing more collaborative opportunities.  There is this transition after winter break that begs for more collaborative work.  The children are ready for the rich experiences of negotiation, problem solving, compromise and all the rich, juicy stuff of working with others!!

 Each week I try to provide at least one collaborative piece for the children to work on.  This week as a quick transitional piece - each group worked together on a "doodle drawing." 

I had each group create a dancing dragon during the Chinese New Year unit.

Each group decided on their group "name."  Everyone had to agree.  It took two days for the groups to finalize their names.  They decorated their group posters together.

What collaborative work do you have your students do?  I really want to expand what I do and would love to hear your ideas!

A Narrative at Block Play

I love to watch little narratives unfold during centers.  One of the best places to "catch" such a narrative is in the block center.  Here is the saga I captured today:

 Four boys are building a structure.  I ask what it is.  S replies, "It is a house."  H chimes in and says, "It is Halloween and they bump their heads."  "Who?" I inquire.  "The beyblades."   One boy tells me, "It is a haunted house with a battle place.  You can battle on top of the house."

"Some people do not know how to spin." C explains.  S warns,  "They can bounce."

H brings over some tigers.  S warns him, "No, don't!"  H spins the tigers like a beyblade.  "Dude, you can't do that." S warns and then seeing H is not going to back off says,  "Pretend he got trapped and can't get out."  S slips the tigers under the block structure.

 Another boy adds, "The beyblades are sick and have to go inside."  The boys make a place for the sick beyblades.   Another boy announces, "The tigers are killed."

 H returns with a new creation.  "Here comes the Electric Shock Ball with two ships." 

 Another boy enters the play asking if he can join them with his car.

 S tells him, "Yes, we will make a home for you."  S opens a section of the structure and J slips his car into its new home.  Meanwhile one of the boys declares "We all have the same powers.  When the beyblades spin, they shoot out fire."

Placing a block over the car, S looks pleased.  "It is a new battle area!"

The narrative lasted the entire centers - nearly 25 minutes.  During that time many children entered the saga and left.  S, C and H remained the constant players.  It is so revealing to watch their negotiation skills and how they work out differences.  It was rich to see how others entered the play and then disengaged. 

Drawing Castles

This last week, I lead my kinders in drawing castles.  I adapted my original drawing instructions (see below) by adding extra towers to each side.  I demonstrated how to draw stones and bricks on the castle.  The children loved it!

Dear Ole Abe and George

Today in class my kinders made a good old fashion project - paper portraits of Abe and George. They traced the major components and glued it together.  (This is my first post made from my iphone. . . a little different but fast!)

Sweet Little Paintings

This is such a sweet little project and super easy.   I purchased 24 - 4" by 4" little canvases for $6 using a 40% off coupon at Michaels.  The best deal available is at http://www.dickblick.com/.  You can purchase 24 for under $5.  I purchased the cheapest brand of liquid craft acrylic paints with these main colors - a happy lime green, a magenta, turquoise and gold metallic paint.

It is done in four simple steps:

 STEP ONE:  Have the children paint the entire canvas.  I provided two colors per table (a light and dark color such as light blue and dark blue.)

STEP TWO: (sorry no photos)After the paint dried, I had the children draw their picture on the canvas with a crayon.  I showed them how to draw a heart (make a v and put a m on top), a butterfly and a flower.  I let them choose which one to draw.

STEP THREE:  Gave the children a small selection of colors to choose from to paint their drawn image.  I guided their choices by asking - "What color would you like to make your heart" or "What color will the body of the butterfly be?"  This helps the children to refrain from just swirling colors into mud!    I also demonstrated how to make dots and marks with paint. 

 STEP FOUR:  Trace the main image with a sharpie to bring it out. 

 I taped a ribbon on the back for hanging.

This was the children's gift to their parents for Valentine's Day.  It would also be a lovely Mother's Day Gift.  So simple but oh so cute!!

Oh how I love Heart Garlands!

I love, love, love the joy of a heart garland.  Aren't they divine?  I found several worth sharing on the internet.  There are a few very creative ideas for making garlands.  My kinders love making garlands.  What a lovely thing to do during centers. . .

When I saw this,  I immediately thought I could make this into a "Sight Word garland!"  I know, totally a kindergarten teacher reaction but hey, what can I say!  

Instructions at: www.myownlabels.com

Paper cupcake liner garlands!  How cool is that?!
Find Instructions at:  pamgarrison.typepad.com

This was a photo I found through pinterest - unfortunately it did not hold an originating website url.  I thought this would be a wonderful project to do but use paper hearts.  I love tree branches and twigs.

Valentine's Playdough!

Chocolate Playdough!

I first found this idea at Counting Coconuts and loved it!  

Instructions here:  Heidi's Recipes

Adding the empty chocolate candy box is key! 

Valentine's Bakery Playdough

This is such a fun idea!  I adore the sprinkles - such a creative idea!  

The kinders in my class would love that so much! 

For instructions: Learning4kids