Math!

The theme for the third week of August was "Math!". The children are having so much fun in our "summer camp" this year!

This week we read: 1-2-3 Peas by Keith Baker
                                       Animalia by Graeme Base
                                       Little Green Peas by Keith Baker
                                       Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard
                                       LMNO Peas by Keith Baker 

The older children that join my class for Summer Camp do not nap during rest time. They have time in the gym in a small group while my class does. To keep them working on their skills, I make them  packet to bridge their grades.

The games that we played this week at morning meeting were so fun!

"Pass the Vader" is a fun game. It's just like Hot Potato, except we do it with a small stuffed Darth Vader that children gave me this past Valentine's Day. Love it!

We played "Find the Clothespin". I found this game on KindergartenSmorgasboard, and I thought it just sounded so fun! While the children are not peeking, I hide a clothespin one myself, on a child or somewhere close around us. When they look for it, they can't yell out where it is, they put their finger on their nose! They have so much fun searching.

We played "Crocodile Snap". I found the idea for this game last year and adapted it to be my own. I turned a box into a crocodile with bulletin and construction paper, then filled it with little cards that have a letter, number or shape on them. The children have to reach into the crocodile's mouth (while he's sleeping of course), pull out a card and name what's there. Also hidden in the belly of the crocodile though are SNAP cards (the crocodile wakes up and SNAPS his mouth shut!). Once we pull three SNAP cards, the game is over!

We played "1,2,3" which we have played before and is definitely a fan favorite! We stand in a circle and each child says 1,2 or 3 consecutive numbers starting with 1 up to 9. So for example: "1,2,3" "4" "5,6" "7,8,9" and the next child who would have to say 10 sits down and is out of the round. Then it starts back at one. My class really loves this one, and usually if we play it in the morning, I will hear them in centers or at their lunch tables playing their own facilitated versions of the game.

We played "Alphabet Catch" with a beanbag. We toss the beanbag around the circle and the kids have to say the next letter in the alphabet. If they drop it, we have to start back at the letter "A". This game helps us work on our communication, because the children have to let the person know that they are going to toss it to them!

The special activities this week were a blast. Bubble day is quickly turning into a favorite. This week we just had a good time running around and blowing bubbles.

Since we are the oldest in the school, our class took over the little school garden. We spent time weeding it. It seems that our store bought plants are surviving, which is great! We've started to get some blossoms, so that is definitely promising!

Every Wednesday my class has sprinkler day. This is always a fan favorite. The children wear their bathing suits and water shoes, run around in a sprinkler outside, and play in a water sensory table. It really helps beat the summer heat!

Exercise is very important, so I thought it would be fun to have some kind of special exercise activity. This week, we had a number relay! I put numbers in a bucket that the children had to run to and name, and then run back to the group. We had fun running and doing different kinds of movements.

I LOVE having a movie day in the summer. It gives the kids a chance to relax, wind down and just enjoy themselves. Plus we have snacks and make it feel like the movie theater... who doesn't like going to the movie theater? This week we watched Meet the Robinsons. 

Our question of the week was "What do you love about the summer?"

For our theme "Math",  we did some neat math activities. The class made bingo marker patterns.

Check out our sensory table!

Using pattern blocks I made pictures of different animals and objects. I put out the blocks and my pictures and let the class explore them, making the pictures and their own.

I cut out shapes from paper and the class sorted them. If I can find where I found these materials, i will post it here!

Using Unifix cubes the class made pattern and color towers.

I made a memory game with index cards and stickers. The children had to practice their counting whenever they flipped over a card, to try to find the match.

We sang "Numbers Marching In" from here.

"Oh, When the numbers march right in,
Oh, when the numbers march right in.
We will count them one by one,
When the numbers march right in.

Oh, one-two-three and Four-five-six,
And Seven-eight and nine and ten.
When we finish all our numbers,
We will count them once again."

For our seventh week of the  study "Buildings" we had a lot of fun. We reviewed the different things that go on inside them. They each made a flip page project about their house. On the top fold they drew the outside of their home, and on the inside they drew a room(s) that is in their home. I found it here!

With empty cardboard boxes, we made a box city! Over a few days we set up the city, deciding what kinds of buildings we would make, how to decorate them and where to put them. So much fun!

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