Winter Penguins and Other Plans

For some reason over winter break I could not get myself to work on anything for school, but now that I'm exhausted and back to work, I feel like blogging?  Heehee...  This week back was kind of up and down for my class.  Monday we came back from break, and the kids were SO GOOD.  Like angelic good.  Tuesday we had an inservice and they had a substitute for whom they were even more angelic.  The rest of the week? no bueno.  I do not know what it was, because there was no full moon or wind, only super cold weather which we are not used to here in sunny Southern Cali.  It's been in the 30s in the mornings!  Brrr!!!  I'm chalking it up to that, and hope they come back on Monday as angels.

So what were we up to this week?  We were getting back into the swing of math tubs, lessons, and reading group rotations.  Back to their long days with me, and a few wanting to go home.  Lots of hugs and I love yous, and a few calling me mom {which melts my heart...}  And...penguins!  I love how interested kids are in animals and learning new things about them.  So, I chose penguins to focus on this week, as there is a multitude of holidays and things coming up.

I bought these two adorable books from Amazon {children's book junkie, I am}:

We watched Emperor Penguins speed launch out of the water on YouTube...

And made these absolutely UH-stinkin-dorable penguins I saw a pin of on Pinterest.  Here's the link to the pin, and here our a few of my kiddos penguins.

Cute, right?!  And, yes, I still have my Santas up.  I need to take them down and get my snowmen up we made before break.  {Have you seen these?  They are so cute.}  You mix half and half of glue and shaving cream and let the kids go to town making a snowman.  They love it!

Well, that's what we've been up to this week.  Next week I plan on doing a directed draw on Martin Luther King, Jr. and read the kids a little about him.  I found this cute video on YouTube about him, too.

Have a great week, Everyone!!

Santa Craftivity

Quick post to share a new item in my TPT store just in time to make before it's too late!  This is a cute craft, and a quick and easy writing prompt to go along with it.  (Click on the picture below to check it out!!)

My students had a fun time sharing what they all want for Christmas with each other and having me write it on our mind map.  They were also super excited to cut out all the pieces of their Santa.  We did our writing together on Friday (kids using clipboards on the rug, me showing them how-to on the doc cam.)  I will have to take a pic of the mind map and share ASAP.  We will be putting our Santas together in small groups Mon/Tues, and I will put them up on the bulletin board as soon as they are done.  Check back later this week for a picture of my room decorated for Christmas!

Do you put up stockings with your students' names on them?  If so, here's a cute little freebie for you.  I put mine up on a clothesline hung from the ceiling, and wanted a cute title this year.  I hope you enjoy it, too!  (Click on the pic below to snag yours!!)

Happy Holidays!!

How Time Flies

This school year is flying by!  It seems like it was just Halloween, and now Thanksgiving is over.  I have to say I am thouroughly enjoying this crop of kiddos this year, and while I really love being home with my own children, I am anxious to get back into the classroom on Monday!

I have been thinking ahead to holiday activities, and whipped up an activity pack for the folk tale The Gingerbread Man.  This story has so many possibilities...I included just a few in my pack.  Even though so much more can be done, I have so many other projects to get going, songs to teach for our Winter program, etc. and only a few weeks until break!  GAH!  {At least report cards and conferences are over.}  Check it out here.  It includes: sequencing cards, a follow-up sequencing activity for centers, a writing prompt, and two craftivities!  WOOHOO!

Here is one of the books I will be reading to kick off the gingerbread man chase:

And I plan on sharing this video:

I hope you enjoy my new activity pack!  I know my students will.  I can't wait to see how excited they are about Christmas and the holidays.  ;)

What special activities do you do along with this folk tale?

Pumpkin Freebie

We made our first few Halloween projects this week.  We learned the poem "Five Little Pumpkins" and made some pumpkin puppets.  The kids loved watching the youtube videos I showed them.

I like the various versions of the poems the kids were able to see, and I LOVE the Raffi song.  In case you need a giggle, I like how animated this lady is, and it does show some good hand movements to teach the kiddos.  ;)

We also made some torn paper pumpkin art this week.  I created this bulletin board title, and you can snag it here for free for your pumpkin bulletins.  {Be sure to print out as 8.5 x 14.}  Our school has three display cases, and I'm supposed to have put my class' stuff up for the month of October {oops}, so I will be posting our pumpkins we made on Friday tomorrow before school.

I just love love love me some cute clip art.  If you create your own things, you have to check out KPM Doodles.  She has a new website, and for a limited time, use the code NEW50 for 50% off!  SWEET!!  I just bought the pumpkin patch and Thanksgiving clip art packs.  At least clip art doesn't cost as much as shoes?  :)  Happy Sunday, everyone.  Have a great week!!

Apples and Fall

I don't know about you, but Kindergarten has to be the busiest grade level ever!  I feel like I don't sit down until I drive home from work.  But I love it.  There's just something about Kindergarten...

This past week we've been doing lots of reading about apples!  It's fall y'all!!  Here are some of the books we've been reading:

We are also reading other books about fall and fall leaves, but these are a few of my students' favorites.  In addition to our reading, we have been apple tasting, apple graph making, and Johnny Appleseed crafting.  The kids are loving it!

Here are some of the resources I used to create apple learning fun in my classroom:

A is for Apples from Oopsey Daisy Blog.  This packet is massive!  I am picking {no pun intended} and choosing a few things from this like the Apple Booklet for my kiddos.

 

I just love this blog: A Cupcake for the Teacher.  She creates the cutest "craftivities."  We are making these Johnny Appleseed crafts to go along with what we are learning about him.

Cute, right?  So far we have cut out all the pieces and will put him together this week.  We still need to do a mind map on Johnny so we can do some writing, but all things in good time.  :)  You can buy Ms. Cupcake's unit on TPT here.

I must remember to take some pics of my kiddos work!  I am such a crazy lady all day, I don't think of it.  We did some torn paper apples that are super cute displayed with our graph.  Pics to come!!  I promise.





Pets in the Classroom

I'm super excited to announce I recently applied for a grant from Pets in the Classroom, and I was approved!!  I got the package in the mail today, and I'm ready to run down to Petco now!  Only, I don't think the fish will last in the bags until Monday.  LOL
If you are interested in applying to get your own pet for your classroom, it's super easy!  Just go to their website here and choose which program you'd like to apply for.  Click on Grant App on the top of the page, read the info, and scroll down to the bottom.  Click choose your grant type, and decide where you'd like to apply.  I chose Petco, since it's here in town near Target, and I seem to end up there at least once a week!  You can then choose which type of pet is best for you and your classroom.  I chose fish, because I wouldn't have to worry about it over the weekends and such.

Here's what my classroom gets: a 10 gallon deluxe aquarium kit {everything is included!!}, and a coupon for $5 off the fish.  Sweet!!

You can also choose from other small animals depending on which grant you decide on.  You can choose from hamsters, guinea pigs, lizards, etc.  I didn't want something I felt bad about leaving in the classroom over any vacays.

So check it out!  What a great program, and super easy to apply for.  Thanks Pets in the Classroom!!!

 

Classroom Freebie!!

I know I've shared this freebie with you before in one of my previous posts, but I'm linking it up with Manic Mondays at Classroom Freebies!!  I grew tired last year of always having to take down and restaple kids' names on the Classroom Helper chart.  So I decided to make a super cute one that I could use clothespins on, and just switch out the clips weekly.  Next week I'm introducing classroom jobs and responsibilities a few at a time, and I'm sure the little ones will be super excited.  {They are such a sweet group of kids this year!}

The helpers freebie includes the kids as a title, or an owl option.  It includes two pages of helpers options, and also a page of pencils you can print out, laminate, and hot glue onto clothespins.  When you laminate them, you can write kids' names on them with Sharpie and erase them with whiteboard cleaner or windex and a little elbow grease.  Then, you can reuse them year after year.

I hope you all enjoy using this freebie in your classrooms!  Click here to get your copy.  Thanks for stopping by!!