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!

 Leave a comment below and let me know that you stopped by!

Space!

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

This week we read: I Want to be an Astronaut by Byron Barton
                                       My Picture Book of Planets by Nancy E. Kryulik
                                       Our Stars by Anne F. Rockwell
                                       Roaring Rockets by Tony Mitton
                                       The Birth of the Moon by Coby Hol
                                       Circus in the Sky by Nancy Guettier
                                       On the Moon by Anna Milbourne

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!
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!

We played "I have, who has?" which I originally saw being played in a Montessori class. It's so cool to see the children take over the game and help their friends follow along. Over the past year, I made a few different ones to add to my colors, shapes and Alphabet. I love having the different options now because it keeps the game feeling new and fresh!

We played "Number Ball" with a beanbag. We toss the beanbag around the circle and the kids have to say the next number. We stand in a circle and toss the beanbag across to friends and try to beat our record!

"Pop!" is a really fun game, and definitely a favorite. We stand in a circle and each child says one number as we go around. But each round there is a pop number. Instead of saying that number, you POP! the person that would be next, out. We work very hard on having good sportsmanship, and the kids have fun even if they're out because they know they get to play again in the next round!

The special activities this week were a blast.  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!

Exercise is very important, so I thought it would be fun to have some kind of special exercise activity. This week, we did Yoga! Cosmic Kids Yoga on Youtube has great videos that the children love.

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!

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 Wall-E. 

Bubble day is quickly turning into a favorite. This week we just had a good time running around and blowing bubbles.

Our question of the week was "Where in space do you want to visit?"

For our theme "Space",  we did some neat space related activities. We talked about constellations, and how the stars show up the picture in the sky. The children picked a number to draw on a piece of black construction paper, and then poked holes along the number to make their own constellation.

We sang "Climb Aboard the Spaceship" to the tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider.

"Climb aboard the spaceship, we're going to the moon.

Hurry and get ready, we're going to blast off soon.

Put on your helmets and buckle up real tight.

Here comes the countdown, let's count with all our might.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... blast off!"

(C) 2001 - 2011 Jean Warren www.preschoolexpress.com

While we were talking about the sun, we also discussed how things look during the day vs how they look at night. I challenged the children to draw a picture, half during the day and the other half at night.

I made a little board game with construction paper and star stickers. Using dice we moved up the stars to the end of the game in small groups.

I added some cool space pages to our science binder, and space related buildings in our structure binder.

The children wrote in their journals about where in space they would like to go visit.

In the summer I have elementary children that join my class. While my pre-k students write in their journals, the older children work on a reading response page based on the book that we read at morning meeting.

For our sixth week of the  study "Buildings" we talked about towers and other tall buildings. They built towers as tall as they could, and measured them to see how tall it was.

We talked about the sun, and how shadows appear when the sun's light is blocked. The children built towers with blocks, and then traced the shadows that they created.

We explored building using plastic cups and popsicle sticks.

The children illustrated the tongue twister "Busy Builders bravely balance banging boards on the building's beams."

 Leave a comment below and let me know that you stopped by!

The Beach!

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

This week we read: On a Pirate Ship by Anna Milbourne
                                        Pig Kahuna Pirates by Jennifer Sattler
                                        On the Seashore by Anna Milbourne
                                        A Day at the Beach by Mircea Vasiliu
                                        What Lives in a Shell? by Kathleen Weidner Zoefeld
                                        Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon

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!
 We played "Number Ball" with a beanbag. We toss the beanbag around the circle and the kids have to say the next number. We stand in a circle and toss the beanbag across to friends and try to beat our record!

"Pop!" is a really fun game, and definitely a favorite. We stand in a circle and each child says one number as we go around. But each round there is a pop number. Instead of saying that number, you POP! the person that would be next, out. We work very hard on having good sportsmanship, and the kids have fun even if they're out because they know they get to play again in the next round!

"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!

The special activities this week were a blast. Exercise is very important, so I thought it would be fun to have some kind of special exercise activity. This week, we brought out the parachute and had a lot of fun bouncing balloons and balls on it like popcorn!

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!

Bubble day is quickly turning into a favorite. This week we made popped bubble art! I hung a big piece of white paper on the fence, and added a little bit of water color to some cups of bubble solution. The children had fun blowing bubbles at the paper! I think it turned out pretty neat!

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 Surfs Up.

Our question of the week was "What do you like to do when you're at the beach?"

For our theme "The Beach",  we talked all about the different things we can see and do at the beach. The kids loved the sensory table from last week, so i kept it and added some gold pirate dubloons!

We sang "Pretty Shells" to the tune of Jingle Bells.

"Pretty Shells, pretty shells, laying all around.

What a lovely sight to see, shells upon the ground.

Pick one up, it's good luck! Listen to the roar,

Of the never ending waves that beat upon the shore."

(C) 2001 - 2011 Jean Warren www.preschoolexpress.com

I love using non standard units of measure, so to go with this theme I thought we could measure with dubloons! The children picked two things each in the classroom, drew a picture of it and measured with the coins.

The children wrote in their journals about things that they see at the beach.

In the summer I have elementary children that join my class. While my pre-k students write in their journals, the older children work on a reading response page based on the book that we read at morning meeting.

We talked about what the beach looks like and things that we can see (sand, water, sky, clouds, boats, sand castles, waves etc.) Then the children drew their own picture of the beach using crayons. When they were finished, the squeezed out some glue and added some sparkly sand!

We went fishing for Alphabet Fish! when the children caught a fish, I asked them what letter it was, the sound that it makes, and for a challenge, a word that starts with the letter.

From the book Alphabet, Colors, Numbers and Shapes the kids worked on their color word knowledge to correctly color in the fish.

We tossed around a beach ball for a really fun time too.

For our fifth week of the  study "Buildings" we focused on the materials that can be used to build. The children brainstormed a list of different materials to use to build first. Then they walked around the inside and outside of our building to see the materials that our building is made of. We also talked about the ways that we can make a building sturdy, or not so sturdy.

With glue and popsicle sticks, the children put together houses.

I asked the children if they could build a house out of anything, what would it be? Then they drew a picture of it.

 Leave a comment below and let me know that you stopped by!

In the Garden!

The theme for the first full week of July was "In the Garden". Summer camp has officially started! This year I decided that I wanted to make it more of a camp feel, and less of an extension of the school year, so I created themed days that rotate throughout the week. I'm excited!

This week we read: My Garden by Kevin Henkes
                                        Backhoe Joe by Lori Alexander
                                        Living Sunlight by Molly Bang
                                        Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail by James Horvath
                                        Mortimer's First Garden by Karma Wilson

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!
"Pop!" is a really fun game, and definitely a favorite. We stand in a circle and each child says one number as we go around. But each round there is a pop number. Instead of saying that number, you POP! the person that would be next, out. We work very hard on having good sportsmanship, and the kids have fun even if they're out because they know they get to play again in the next round!

"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.

The special activities this week were a blast. Since we are the oldest in the school, I thought it would be great to take over the little school garden. We spent time weeding it and getting it ready for all the things we had sprouted in the classroom during our Going Green week.

I thought having a bubble day would be so much fun each week. This week I brought out this adorable small bubble machine that I found for $3, and just let it do it's thing. the children had an amazing time running around in the hundreds of bubbles.

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 each week as well. This week, the children moved their bodies like insects. This pin gave me great ideas of what to call out, and the children really enjoyed it! 

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 A Bug's Life.

Our question of the week was "What do you want to grow in your garden?"

For our theme "In the Garden",  we talked about things happening in a garden! In small groups the children played "The Ladybug Game". We've played this before, and the children really enjoy it.

On TeachersPayTeachers I found a great FREE worksheet that is not only a cool coloring, cutting and gluing project, but really helps kids with those tricky teen numbers!

The children wrote in their journals about what they would plant in their own gardens.

We sang "I'm a Little Watering Can" to the tune of teapot.

I’m a little watering can, Tall and thin.
To fill me up, Just pour some water in.

When you tip me over, And the water sprinkles out.
“Thanks for the drink,” The flowers all shout!

(C) 2001 - 2011 Jean Warren www.preschoolexpress.com

In the summer I have elementary children that join my class. While my pre-k students write in their journals, the older children work on a reading response page based on the book that we read at morning meeting.

We talked about how plants and flowers drink their water up from the ground and I thought the best way to illustrate that would be the celery experiment! SUPER SIMPLE TO DO!
I got 4 celery stalks (full stalks with the leaves at the top) and put one in plain water, and one in each dyed water blue, yellow and red. I showed the class the set up and we made hypotheses about what would happen to the celery. (I made the worksheet up for this one).

Then we looked at the celery that had been sitting in the water for a few hours t osee what actually happened. That was what we recorded on our papers.

Just for fun I kept the celery around to the end of the week and it looked SO COOL!

The children painted flowers.

We have begun using the Creative Curriculum's Studies, which seem pretty cool. Each study lasts as long as the children are interested in them, and they can be customized to the class's interest in the subject. We decided as a school to start with the  study "Buildings". In the sensory table I put some building blocks in dirt to make a construction site.

We began by exploring the topic. We went outside our school and sat in front of it, and each drew an Observational picture of it. It was really cool to see the the children take such an interest in it.

Using different size and shape blocks, the children worked in pairs to build.

We talked about different kinds of buildings and the types of things that happen inside them.

The children each picked a kind of building to draw the inside of, and we turned it into a book.

 Leave a comment below and let me know that you stopped by!