Being Healthy (D, 1, Rectangle)

Our theme this week was "Being Healthy" and we focused on the letter Dd, the number 1 and the shape rectangle.

We read this week: Duck and Goose by Tad Hills
                               Duck, Duck Goose by Tad Hills
                               Bear's Loose Tooth by Karma Wilson
                               Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
                               1,2,3 Peas by Keith Baker

Our question of the week was "What do you think Dad does at work?" Some of the answers were spot on, and some were just hilarious.

For our theme of the week, we talked about different ways to be healthy, healthy minds, bodies, teeth. Everyone was very open to our daily discussions and special activities.

We did yoga in the gym and talked about healthy minds. My friends who were not with us for summer camp had a great time with the video. Its a great one that our director found that relates simple yoga poses with animals and plants. The kids get to sniff like a bunny, hiss like a snake and roar like a lion.

The kids practiced using tooth brushes against "plaque monsters" in an activity that I found here.

We also discussed that we keep our teeth healthy by not only brushing and flossing but also by the food and drink that goes into our bodies. Each child got to give me one way that they keep their teeth healthy and they got to stick it to our giant tooth. I found the activity here.

We talked about making sure to eat healthy things and to always try something before saying that you don't like it (and to try often and more than once =]) Each child "tried" (there were some licks and tiny nibbles here or there) red, orange, yellow and green bell pepper, celery and carrot.

We also got to exercise with our schools parachute. The kids LOVED it. Actually I'm not sure who had more fun, the teachers or the kids. It's hard not to be happy around a billowing and bouncing parachute.

We talked a lot this week about the shape rectangles. We sang this song to the tune of "Jingle Bells":

We walked around the school and tried to spot as many things as we could that were the rectangle shape.

We talked about the differences between squares and rectangles. The kids practiced drawing squares and rectangles with this cool worksheet, found here.

When we worked on our number activities, we practiced writing the number and word for the number.

The kids also used a key to color a picture. It was the first time we did something like this, and the kids did a great job.

For our letter activities, we used our handwriting sheet for the letter D,  and the sheet that helps work on letter recognition, both are from books that are mentioned in the "All About Me" post. The students also wrote in their journals for the letter D.

From one of The Mailbox books, I got the idea of having the students jump distances measured in pictures of little dachshunds. They didn't want to stop!

We turned D's into Ducks.

And we of course had a dance party. =]

For our alphabet wall we made dogs out of paper plates.

 And with the D addition, our wall now looks like...

Our list for words beginning with D's was very impressive. Here it is!

Up next week: The letter Ee, the number 2, ovals and "Community Helpers/Fire Prevention".

Our Feelings (C, Triangle)

Our theme this week was "Our Feelings" and we focused on the letter Cc and the shape triangle.

We read this week: Corduroy by Don Freeman
                               Curious George Goes Camping by Margret and H.A. Reys
                               The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
                               The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
                               The Pout Pout Fish in the Big Big Dark by Deborah Diesen

Our question of the week was "What is something that you're not so good at?" We talked about not being good at something is not always a bad thing, that with practice we can always get better. Some children raised their hands multiple times to tell me things. I love when we get a great discussion going like that.

In the beginning of the year I always like to have the students practice tracing and writing their names.  I found this great website that lets me put in the words that I want them to practice. I choose the largest text and it gives three lines of tracing and one where they have to write the letters on their own. I like to do this activity a few times a year and keep them in their portfolios to see the improvement in their writing over the course of the school year.

For our theme of the week, we talked a lot about our different feelings, why we feel them and how to deal with them.

We made "Happy Cards" I found the idea at this blog. The kids loved getting smiley faces painted on their hands. After they made their hand prints, I asked them to tell me "Things that make me smile"and I scribed what they said.

 We made water color relief sad faces. They used white crayons to draw sad faces on white paper. Then they used blue watercolor paint to make the faces "appear"! They loved the "magic" and it got us talking about why blue is a color associated with sadness.

We made our own class feelings book. In the same idea as those emotion posters, we practiced making happy, sad, mad and worried faces. Then I took their pictures for each child with each face, then turned it into a book! I got the idea from a blog online that I know can't find :(.

I cut out circles in different colors (blue, orange, red and green) and we talked about what happy, sad, mad and worried/scared faces look like. Then I asked them to make each circle into one of those faces. I let them decide which colors to make each face.

We talked a lot this week about the shape triangles. We sang the song:

"Triangles, triangles, triangles I see,

Count the points and count the sides,

Count them 1,2,3

Triangles triangles, just for you and me,

Count the points and count the sides,

Count them 1,2,3!

-Found here, to the tune of 'twinkle twinkle' 

The kids practiced drawing triangles with this cool worksheet of triangles and squares, which I found here. We also worked on recognizing triangles among of other shapes.

For our letter activities, we used our handwriting sheet for the letter C, the sheet that helps work on letter recognition, both are from books that are mentioned in the "All About Me" post. The students also wrote in their journals for the letter C.

From one of The Mailbox books, I got the idea of having the students make a "C Collection" book. 

We turned C's into Caterpillars!

We also made Crocodile Puppets!

For our alphabet wall we made clouds of white paint on blue paper. I showed the kids examples of the three main kinds of clouds (Stratus, Cumulus and Cirrus). We talked about the differences, where they are and what they look like. Then each child got to make their own cloud.

And with the C addition, our wall now looks like...

Our list for words beginning with C's was very impressive. Here it is!

Up next week: The letter Dd, the number 1, rectangles and "Being Healthy".

Our Five Senses! (B, Circle)

Our theme this week was "Our Five Senses" and we focused on the letter B and the shape circle.

We read this week: Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
                               Paddington by Mark Brown
                               Paddington and the Busy Bee Carnival by Mark Brown
                               The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
                               Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon

Our question of the week was "What is something that you are really good at?"

For our theme of the week, we talked a lot about our senses, what they help us do and why we need them.

We made texture collages:

 This week is full of some of my favorite activities from the year, these texture collages being one of them. I love how each one is different, and the kids are so proud of the texture choices that they make. AND they look amazing on the wall.

We tasted sweet, salty and sour things, and the kids had to vote on their favorite taste. (They think it's awesome when they get to eat things as part of a project.)

We tested their sense of smells with this project where I asked them to describe the things that they were smelling. I used perfume, shampoo, chocolate syrup, pickle juice, toothpaste and (the most tricky) water.

Out on our schools nature trail we talked about the different sounds that we could hear. We did this at various points of our walk, close to the school, by the parking lot and deeper in the woods.

Lastly we did another activity with the sense of touch. I set up my table with different texture objects. I used flour, rice, oatmeal, sand and a scrubbing sponge.

As the students felt each thing, I asked them to describe what they were feeling. It was hard to get them away from just telling them what the items were and to use describing words, but we got there in the end.

For our shape of the week, the kids practiced drawing circles with this cool worksheet of circles and another with squares and circles. We also worked on recognizing circles out of other shapes.

We talked a lot about things that are circles. We sang the song

"This is a circle, this is a circle.

How can you tell? How can you tell?

It goes round and round,

No end can be found, 

It's a circle, it's a circle."

-Found Here

For our letter activities, we used our handwriting sheet for the letter B, the sheet that helps work on letter recognition, both were mentioned in the "All About Me" post. The students also wrote in their journals for the letter B.

We turned B's into Bees!

After we read Ferdinand we all made our own bees. This was a great way for the kids to practice their cutting skills.

I love how each child's bee is different.

Another project that we did (another one of my favorites all year) is the Boat Builder activity. I love it because I give the students the materials and the end result is something completely their own. 

Each child got a piece of white paper, a square of brown paper, a skinny black rectangle, scissors, a glue stick and crayons with the instruction of make me a boat however you want to. (They love when I say that). If I get "I don't know how..." or " I can't do it.." We go back a few steps and talk about boats.. what do they look like, where do we find them, what do they do, and then the creative juices start flowing. Here's the end results!

Love it!

For our Alphabet wall we made butterflies with coffee filters and water color paint. After the children painted their coffee filters and they dried I used small pipe cleaners to turn them into butterflies!

And with the B addition, our wall now looks like...

Our list for words beginning with B's was very impressive. Here it is!

As a side note, teachers always need to be flexible, and as such, it was in the best interest of the flow of the classroom to switch two centers, the library and dramatic play center.

And I'm always telling the kids to make sure that they turn off the water faucet after getting a drink or washing their hands. I tell them to "Save the water for the fishes, so I painted a mural for above the sink to remind them.

Up next week: The letter C, Triangles and "Our Feelings".