I made myself a promise that I wouldn't do much Pampered Chef work over the next couple of days, so I decided we would have a morning of painting, Play-doh and cleaning (we are hosting Thanksgiving this year). So, I made this simple little page for Sara to paint and give to family members. She LOVES to paint!!! Feel free to snag it.
Today I had to hop on the blog to share some of the awesome finds I saw in the Target dollar spot. I'm not in the classroom anymore, but I am planning to start a "Tot School" in the Fall at home with my sweet girl. She is more than ready. Only 2 and she can identify all her letters, shapes, colors and some of her numbers. I'm not sure where she gets it... I'm guessing her dad. I have never had book smarts. I am the creative type. Anyway, I picked up a few things I thought would be fun to use with her, and thought I'd share what I found with you guys.
Big Dice!
I used these all the time for Math Centers in Kindergarten. These are the perfect size for Sara. I won't have to worry about her putting them in her mouth. She doesn't do it often, but I'm not taking any chances.
These are small shapes (triangle, heart, circle, square, etc..)
You could ID shapes, graph them, sort them, use as counters, addition, the list goes on!
I can't wait to use these when practicing letters. I know she will love them!
We didn't buy this, but I had to share. In my classroom we had a kitchen with hardly any food, but I never really wanted to spend much money on it bc we rarely played in it..
What teacher doesn't love some Mod Podge?!?! Only a $1 at Target. Yahoo!!
I hope you all are having a fabulous summer!!!
PS- I had to share this video, because it's so me when I go to Target without my girl.
I had the best time at the SDE Pre-K Conference. I was incredibly humbled to be able to present alongside some amazing, and incredibly famous teachers!
One of whom I have admired for years!!
Yes, Kim Adsit!
I have sat in on so many of her sessions and I never get tired of her enthusiasm for helping other teachers. She is so inspiring!
Since many of you weren't there to hear my session, I thought I might share with you some of my slides and briefly mention what I discussed...
Drum roll please...
Interactive Notebooks for Little Learners with me!
During my session I mentioned that Interactive Notebooks/Journals can be used a variety of ways with a variety of ages. In my opinion they can be used from age 2-college age. However, they are used very differently at each age range. Here is my definition of an interactive journal for ages 2-7.
Then, I discussed some reasons why you should be using them in your classroom!
Then, we discussed how to get started!
I also gave a couple Management Tips. These will look different in every classroom and at every age. You know your kiddos and you know what they can and cannot handle!
I highly recommend checking out Lucky Little Learner's series on Interactive Notebooks. She has some great ideas on how to manage interactive notebooks.
Even though I was incredibly nervous about presenting at SDE, I highly recommend it. I felt like I was able to mark off a huge item from my bucket list!!! Not sure if I will ever get this opportunity again, but I am very thankful for it. I also hope some of my 51 attendees took something away from my session.
I love teaching students how to gather information from non-fiction books. One of my favorite ways to do this is by learning about animals. Polar Bears are the perfect animal to learn about in winter. Here are some of the activities we did in my classroom and in the home school setting.
First, you have to gather some non-fiction books from your school or local library. You can also find information ALL over the internet. Just google kid friendly videos on _____ (whatever you are studying).
Then, I like to use tree maps to help them organize what they learned. These also help them learn how to write a paragraph or a couple sentences and stay on topic.
It's also really nice when your Scholastic reader just happens to be on the same topic! haha
Then, we have to do a craft! But, to justify it, we use it to display our informational writing.
I also love to do thematic math journals. This pic came from a TK class. She doesn't do math journals but she uses my prompts on construction paper. This little friend made theirs 3D-- I seriously LOVE the creativity!!!
We practice polar bear sentences. These can be used in a pocket chart or just like this mom did for home school.
Searching for Letters.
Practicing some Polar Bear addition.
Last but not least, the science experiment!
How in the world do Polar Bears not freeze?!?!
Because of all that blubber!
Kids love this experiment. It can be placed in their science journals or simply filled out and sent home.
You can find all of these fun activities in my Polar Bear unit!
I LOVE teaching Science! It has to be one of my favorite subjects!!! There is so much excitement when students discover, observe and explore during a science experiment.
I always teach my "It Matters!" unit during our Snowman week. I like to incorporate science into as many subject areas as possible. Some themes are easier to do than others.. For example with snow, you can display changes in matter- score!
One of the experiments listed in my Matter unit is called: Air takes up space. Here's what you do: Fill up a bucket or large bowl of water. Place a dry paper towel in the bottom of a clear glass cup. Ask the child to push the cup (facing down) to the bottom of the bucket. Hold it for a few seconds, then ask them to pull it back out. At this point, I love watching their faces, because they feel like they have just performed a magic trick! After the experiment is over, we complete our recording sheet.
Science is so much fun!!!
I also like to show this video after we discuss Matter. Some students may have a slight understanding of the concept, but this video goes a little more in depth (And, it's FREE). Click the picture to watch.
You can also find a couple of different sorting activities in my Matter unit. This one was done whole group after watching the video.
Another easy experiment to do with your students is to simply watch an ice cube melt. The recording sheet used in the picture above is also in my unit. It might seem simplistic but it will help students understand how matter changes.
