Theodor Thursday & a Visit From a Fox in Socks

Today we put to rest any confusion that the kids had...the Dr. is not a cat in a hat!! Do your students think the same thing?! 

After lunch we were greeted by this note...

Tomorrow is Dr. Seuss' birthday party and we will think about our feelings with the book My Many Colored Days! Hope to see you back tomorrow!

Wacky Wednesday

Today was "WaCkY" Wednesday! I hope the kids had as much fun as I did!

 Find the centers HERE.

 Yes, there were WaCKy things in my hair! I looked pretty ridiculous today! 

(The writing on the left says, "I had a wacky day when the leprechaun came to my house." The picture even includes something special the leprechaun left in her toilet! :) Love it! The writing on the right says, " I had a wacky day when I dressed up for Valentine's Day. I dressed up as Cupid.")

By the time we made this graph everyone had found a way to make their outfit "WaCKy"! 

The kids loved changing their names to start with "w"! Who knew?!? They called each other the names all day long. So precious!

Of course we had to have a special treat from THE CAT today, so we used Twizzlers Pull-n-Peel to practice our words. 

So much fun!!!!! Hope you have enjoyed our week so far, the past 3 days have been busy and fun...tomorrow Theodore Thursday with Fox in Socks!

If you are celebrating reading this week, head over to Stephanie's blog to link up and share your ideas!!

Terri"FISH"ic Tuesday!

Today was Terri"FISH"ic Tuesday...what a day. When I looked back at the pictures it looks like we didn't do that much, but that is not how I feel!!!

This morning we had to start the day with a writing assessment :/! So we had this note waiting for us...

After fine arts we got to read One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. Even though this book's title is "fishy", after the first few pages there are no more fish!?!?! The book is a great teaching tool to make silly rhyming words. So we made this activity to go along with  our reading. The students finger painted the fish to recreate the cover, then the students created a rhyming phrase just like in the book.

"The zore at the store"

 "The zoop is in the coop" 

(This student is in LOVE with his pet chickens! The zoop is in the chicken coop! :))

"Glass is at class."

After lunch we had some fishy fun! We had a fish taste test.

We estimated the Swedish Fish in a bowl.

We had Goldfish Math Fun. We estimated, practiced patterns, sorted, did addition, practiced positional language and graphed! Phew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a long day! I am already in my PJs!! See you tomorrow for Wacky Wednesday!!

Hats Off to Dr. Seuss

Today we started our Seuss fun. From the time the kids came in today they were so excited...because they were all wearing hats! (Hats Off to Dr. Seuss)! How cute is this little number?!?!?!

It was funny how their hats actually went with their personality perfectly- since they wear uniforms, I don't really get to see the "fashionable" side of them too often!

We started the day in literacy centers. Let's just say they were a hit!

We also had a guest who read the book "Oh, the Places You'll Go!". The kids got to make a fun craftivity afterwards (pinterest inspired). I forgot to snap a picture tho...oops!

After lunch my little friends came back to this note...

This years class cracks me up because they totally by into a secret and mysterious friend coming to visit when we are not "home"! The rest of the day they were asking and waiting for the Cat to come back! And they were SURE that Jack Sparrow (our cupid from Valentine's Day) was the one that sent the Cat in the Hat to our class! :) As we were walking to recess later they saw a new mark on the sidewalk and they begged to follow it because they were POSITIVE it was The Cat in the Hat's trail! :) ***Anyhow at this point the kids thought that the something yummy was just Jell-o.

We had some more silly fun during math centers. And then we watched this video... (I am not a fan-but the kids are...they were in awe!)

Then we created this little cutie to practice characters, setting, problem and solution! I loved their illustrations!

At the end of the day it was time for our yummy treat from Thing 1 and Thing 2. (The label was HUGE! Oops!! I obviously need to work on measurement!!!! ;) It was my first time trying this!) The kids went crazy for this little treat (red jell-o on the bottom and blue cotton candy on top). 

Time for bed! Got to be ready for Totally Teri"FISH"ic Tuesday!

Five for Friday

It is Friday, which means it is time to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!

1. I know I already posted this week HERE about the George Washington directed drawing I found from Kindergarten Planet HERE, but I had to share how the Abe Lincolns turned out too!! How cute are they!

"If * had a tall black hat, she would put a make up kit in it because so I can put it on."

"If * had a tall black hat, he would put Blake and Jackson (his friends) in it because I can play with them."

For this activity we read the book Abe Lincoln's Hat by Martha Brenner. Find it HERE.

2. After lots of practice, sorting, writing, dancing, singing and doing whatever it takes I think I am starting to break some of my little friends of the curse of the b's and d's.

We have been doing lots of the activities found in this UNIT.

3. We used some fiction books that we read about Washington and Lincoln to learn about characters and character traits. My kids thought it was so funny that they could say that Abe Lincoln was "messy" after we read Abe Lincoln's Hat. They also learned two new words/character traits- selfish and unselfish. I heard the words used several times this week...sometimes correctly and sometimes a little confused! I nearly died when I heard two kids talking in centers about being selfish cause someone was only thinking of themselves. The other student responded that it was okay for her to be selfish, because she does like herself just the way she is.

4. We started our space unit this week. The kids are soooooooo into it! Some of them know more about   space than I do!! Stayed tuned for more pics and posts coming. Here is how we started our space unit. First we made spaceships (paper airplanes) and then blasted off into space. After all that hard work we  ate astronaut food (mint chocolate ice cream)!!! So fun!!

5. Seuss-mania starts Monday! Yay! Monday is "Hats Off to Dr. Seuss", we will be having Hat Day in class, meeting "The Dr. Seuss" and reading the Cat in the Hat! If you are still looking for activities for next week make sure you may want to check out these centers on sale this weekend! :)

I hope you join up with Doodle Bugs Teaching!!!



Have a great weekend!

Science Journals

One of my favorite times of the day is science! My kids love science- experimenting and exploring is so fun to them. As much as I am ashamed to admit in past years,  there have been days that science got passed over! I know horrible! This past summer I decided that I really wanted to challenge myself to be more consistent with my science lessons and experiments. I have spent time "beefing up" my lessons and adding rigor AND relevance to them. With the high demands of the other subject areas and at times the lack of time, I added science journals into our activities. These are great for monitor learning, adding literacy components into science and letting the students show what they know in a creative way! My principal (love her!) always says that kids need the opportunity to talk about what they are learning, for my class our science journals are the starting point for "science conversations"! :)

Each student uses a composition book...

 At the beginning of each new unit the students add the vocabulary words for the strand. This is a great tool for vocabulary development and oral language. We also always add some reading skills when we practice reading the words- like looking for initial sounds, ending sounds, vowels, syllables, etc!

Sometimes I use the journal as a "prompt" for the students after we have read nonfiction books or had a class discussion about a topic. The science journal is also a great way to write about what you read and learn- a great prep for the PARCC!

"I am a volcanologist. I study volcanoes."

This was at the beginning of the year when we were learning about what a scientist is and what a scientist does. 

This was an entry after we explored gravity. 

Sometimes the students might complete an experiment. We may do the experiment as a whole class, small groups or individually; however, to save on time and paper instead of each student or group having a recording sheet the students use their science journals. After they are done with the lesson the students record their observations and learnings.

This was done after we complete a light and heat experiment. I know it looks like lots of arrows and letters, but to this little scientist it all meant something! And when she explained it I was in awe! I would have never known how deep of understanding she had with a simple worksheet.

This entry was done after my students made ramps. How awesome was it that he understood that when you make the blocks higher the car would go faster! Wow!!

Mostly my kids love the science journal, because after writing in the journal there is always a few moments to have "science talk" with your friends and share what you learned...and the feedback that they give each other is priceless! :)

Do you use science journals in your classroom?! I hope you feel inspired to be a bit more "science-y"!

Find all my science units here! These science units have lots of printables, vocabulary picture cards, emergent readers and more to help you teach science! Enjoy!!
What is Science?
Five Senses Mini-Unit
What's the Matter?
Full of Energy {Science Unit on Sound, Light and Heat Energy}
Movin' & Groovin' with Newton {A Science Unit to Explore Force & Motion}