Fog Day

There is no school today due to fog.  Monday, Septemter 30th.

Friday Favorites-Week 2

This weeks edition of Friday Favorites focuses on my favorite children's music musician, Jim Gill.

http://www.jimgill.com/index.html

Jim Gill is a musician and author with unique credentials among children’s artists. Jim is a child development specialist, having completed his graduate studies in child development at the Erikson Institute of Chicago with a special emphasis on the study of play. For this reason, each of Jim’s recordings and books is created as an opportunity for playful interactions between a child and a caring adult. (From jimgill.com)

Check out this great interview with Jim and hear him talk about play and inspiring family play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE68UKiY0Ts

Jim travels the United States and Canada performing for families and young children to promote play and learning.  His songs are games that contain catchy, hilarious lyrics and fun motions that keep children and adults entertained.  I had the privilege of  seeing him perform when I was in college at The Wright State University-Lake Campus.  (I've been told he also performed a few times at Thomas Edison!)  One thing I remember the most about his concert is how he captured the students attention  and engaged them in the learning process, when they didn't even know they were learning!

We sing several of his songs at school and the children are always engaged and love these songs.  Three of them are featured under the Songs tab: "The List of Dances", "The Silly Dance Contest", and "Oh Hey Oh Hi Hello!"  The kids also love "Stick to the Glue."

He has produced six CD's of children's music and has written two books.

                                     


                                   


                                  




                                 



Click on the link to find out more information about his books and CD's,  You can also hear song samples from each of his CD's.

http://www.jimgill.com/music_books.html


Click these links for more songs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knzyY7K8g1I -"May There Always Be Sunshine" I LOVE this song!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zs9z3_LOpU -"Alabama, Mississippi"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Km9HFb5qo -"Foot Notes"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUnFms_gJus -"Beethoven's Five Finger Play"

If birds could paint the sky!

Wednesday the students used craft feathers to create some beautiful process art.  The students dipped the feathers in paint and painted strokes across blue paper to create a colorful bird painted sky display. The three day class will do the project next week since we did not have school today.  The two day class also glued cotton balls to the letter C to continue talking about our study of that letter.

Look for these projects in your child's book bag next week!  Have a great weekend! :)

Book order update

I am still planning on sending in the Scholastic Book Order tomorrow afternoon.  Since we didn't have school today due to fog, but you still want to order, you can send the order to school and I can still order it for you at the beginning of October.  Online orders can still be submitted by noon tomorrow.

Fog Day

There is no school today due to fog.

Owls

This week has been very busy, filled with lots of fun projects and skills practice.  So far, the children have been practicing the following:

- Knowing and saying their full name.  First, middle, and last
- Knowing their birthday.
- The three day class has also been working on their address and phone number.
- Sorting bear counters by color
- Making and completing patterns using 2 colors. (AB patterns)
- The three day class will also add patterns with 3 colors into the mix. (ABC patterns)
- The two day class is working on name recognition.
- The three day class is continuing on name writing and identifying first and last name.

These are skills you can work on at home with your child! :)

This week, we are studying the following color, number, shape, and letter.

Letter-C, Color-Green, Number-2, and Shape-Triangle

Triangle Song (Sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell")

A triangle has three sides, a triangle has three sides.
Up the mountain, down and back!
A triangle has three sides!

2 Numbercise

As you make a number two in the air with both hands clasped together, say the following rhyme.

Around and back on a railroad track,
You made a two just like that!

We also made these adorable owls!

We painted the student's right and left hand to make the wings of the owls.  The girls made pink and the boys made blue.

Thank you, Pinterest! :D

We also got out the play dough!  See my earlier post about "Playdough Power".

Check out the pizza this student made on Tuesday! :)

Look under the pictures tab for more pictures from Monday and Tuesday's classes!  The Wednesday and Thursday classes posts will be coming soon!

Friday, September 27th

Reminder:  There is no school this Friday due to Early Childhood Screenings.

Fall!!!

September Book Orders

Scholastic Book orders are due at the end of this week!  If you are sending in a check and order form, please have them in by Thursday the 26th.  There is no school on Friday.  If you are ordering online, have your order placed by noon on Friday the 27th.  When I last checked, we were 2 books away from getting a free classroom copy of the Book of the Month "Llama llama Time to Share!"

Playdough Power

Playdough is more than just a fun activity for young children!  It's a learning experience!  Check out the link!

http://families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/music-math-more/playdough-power

Grandparents Day

Grandparents Day is coming soon!  Watch your child's book bag more information.  Info will also be posted on the blog.  Until then, click on the link and read why grandparents are awesome!

http://families.naeyc.org/content/magic-happens-when-grandparents-care-grandchildren

Parents are Teachers

Talk with little ones. Have a conversation with them, ask questions, and tell them about your day. The language you use and the vocabulary you are introducing is helping them learn and preparing them for reading. From "First Things First".  Find more information here and check out the picture below.  http://www.education.com/magazine/article/30000_words/

Here is another great article about providing support for your child at home.

http://qualityfirstaz.com/parents-and-families/supporting-your-child/

Also, check out "First Things First" on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AZFirstThingsFirst and/or their website. http://www.azftf.gov/Pages/default.aspx

This agency is based out of Arizona and provides lots of help, support, and information about the development of children from Birth to age 5.

Friday Fun!

Check out the pictures tab for pictures from today's lessons.  Today, the Friday class dot painted a letter B paper with blue dot paint.  I taught the kids how to "Rainbow Write".  You use crayons that are the color of the rainbow and trace the letter of the week with each color creating a rainbow.  This week, the students have been practicing cutting, name writing, directional strokes, and saying their full name and birth date. During snack time, the students had Letter Cheeze-Its and had a blast finding the letters in their name or letters in the names of other students! :)  There are still no birds in the tree that want to try our bagel and cream cheese treats.

Friday Favorites- Week 1

It's Friday and time for my new weekly post.  The first "Friday Favorites" post is about one of my favorite websites, Storyline Online.

http://www.storylineonline.net/

Storyline Online is run by The Screen Actors Guild Foundation.  If you are familiar with the SAG Awards, both of these are funded through the organization.  The Screen Actors Guild is basically a union for actors. Storyline Online is an on-line streaming video program that features actors and actresses reading popular children's books aloud. The site also includes lessons and activities to accompany each book.  I have used this before and the kids really enjoy listening to the actors read the stories.  This is a great way to enjoy books in a new way and enjoy them at home, too!

Some of the actors include many famous actors and actresses we have seen on TV or in the movies.

"The Rainbow Fish" -Read by Ernest Borgnine -"McHale's Navy", "The Dirty Dozen"

"Harry the Dirty Dog" -Read by Betty White - "The Golden Girls", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "Hot in Clevland"

"To be a Drum"- Read by James Earl Jones- Voice of Darth Vader in "Star Wars" Episodes III, IV, V, and VI

"A Bad Case of Stripes" and "Me and My Cat" -Read by Sean Astin and Elijah Wood- Played Sam and Frodo in "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy

Check out these actors and many more as they read some fantastic children's books!

Birds

We started this week's bird study by reading the book "Birds" by Kevin Henkes.























The book talks about birds of different colors, different types of birds, and bird behaviors.  We were able to practice identifying colors, count birds on a telephone wire, and talked about birds that migrate south for the winter as well as ones that stay during the winter months.  To follow the story, we made the blue birds that were posted in the previous post.  One of our favorite parts of the story was this picture.



The texts says "If birds made marks with their tail feathers when they flew, think what the sky would look like."  We will do just that next week!  The students will create a Process Art project by dipping craft feathers in different colors of paint and painting the "sky" with bird feathers.  :)  Watch for this project next week!

The students also made bird feeders using bagels, cream cheese, and bird seed. (The cream cheese is a good substitute in case your class has any peanut allergies.)  They were really easy to make!  Let the bagels lay out over night so they become stale.  The next day, soften the cream cheese putting it in the microwave for a few seconds.  Take a length of string and loop it through the bagel to create a hanger.  Using a plastic spoon, the students spread cream cheese on the bagel and sprinkle bird seed over the top.  Shake off the extra and hang in a tree so the birds can have a sweet treat!

Today, some of the students in the Thursday class helped me make extra bird feeders.  We went outside and hung them in the tree outside our classroom for the birds.  The students were very excited!  After we went inside, the students were lined up at the windows waiting for the birds to come to the tree!  :)  When we left for the day, no birds had found the feeders.  I will keep you updated as the students continue "The Bird Watch!"

In this picture, you can see some of the students lined up at the windows watching the tree and waiting for he birds! :)

Finally, the students completed a project using our letter of the week, "B".  They decorated a letter B with beads and buttons.  They students enjoyed this activity.  They liked finding "cool" beads and buttons to glue on the paper.  All the the projects were very creative!

Check out the picture tab for even more pictures!

Birds, Blue, and the letter B

The letter "B" is popping up a lot this week!  We are continuing our bird thematic unit, learning about the letter "B" and color blue.  We also started learning about the number 1 and squares.

Here is our shape song!

Sung to the tune of "Farmer in the Dell"

A square is like a box, a square is like a box.
It has 4 sides, they are the same!
A square is like a box!


Here is the number 1 numbercise!

Clasp both hands together and raise them above your head.
As you make a straight line down, say the following rhyme.

One is fun!
Straight down and then you're done,
That's the way to make a one!

To combine our bird unit, the letter B, and the color blue, the students will make these adorable "Blue Birds". They will come home the next day your child comes to school so they can dry over night.  Here is a sneak peak!

More pictures and posts will be coming later this week about the rest of the activities and projects we complete.  Hope everyone has a great week! :)

Coming Soon!

I have decided to start a weekly segment called "Friday Favorites" where I will share some of my favorite things such as books, websites, and resources I have found and have or will use in the classroom.  If Oprah can do it, so can I! :)  Be on the look out for this Friday's edition.

Songs we sing!

Here is a list of some of the students favorite songs!  I get requests all the time for several of these, the most popular being "We are the Dinosaurs" and "The Silly Dance Contest".


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdAaoC1I-Co -List of Dances

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVq0qfidupQ - The Silly Dance Contest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOF4KjH3xPA - We are the Dinosaurs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzIcu6tbEko -I'm Going on a Bear Hunt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dXoiCMyyu4 -Bop until you Drop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fltOXEJDeQ -Tooty Ta

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsjA_rO1Y8w -The Chicken Dance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSKcUJOF-Dw -ABC Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rri2xpvhx0 -The Bean Bag Dance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtUI8P-Izwc -Oh Hey Oh Hi Hello!

I will post more as I find them or when we learn new songs!

"Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom!"

To kick off our alphabet studies, we read the story "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" by Bill Martin .Jr and John Archambault  to introduce the letters of the alphabet.  In the story, all the letters of the alphabet decide to climb up a coconut tree.  

The students LOVED this book!  With its repeated text, the students were reading parts of the story with me and getting excited when they saw letters that were in their name!  

Here is the animated story book version of the story!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-V4zzXzpT8

After we read the story, the students made coconut trees that contained the letters of their name.  The letters could be in order, scrambled, in the tree, or going up the tree, whatever each student chose.  Here are a couple!

The Thursday class also finger painted with green and brown paint to color in a coconut tree.  The papers were not dry and will come home Friday.  Here is a sneak peek!

The rest of the projects for the week were about the letter "A" and are in the previous post.  Next week, it's back to birds!  Just in time to start learning about the letter "B" and the color blue!

Letters, colors, numbers, and shapes....Oh my!!!

This week we are taking a break from learning about birds and are learning about letters!  This week also starts our weekly letter, color, number, and shape studies.

This week we are learning about the letter "A", the color red, number 0, and the shape circle.  I introduced the students to  Letter Muncher this week!  They really enjoyed meeting her and asked several questions! She ate some art, apples, and an alligator.  The Monday class had a color scavenger hunt and found all the red things in the classroom.  Both classes learned how to do numbercise and use our arms and bodies to make numbers.  For zero, you clasp your hands in front of you and then hold them above your head. As you make a left to right circular motion, you say the rhyme, "Start at the top and around you go, that's the way to make a zero!"  We also learned a shape song for circle. It's to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell".

A circle's like a ball, a circle's like a ball,
round and round it never stops,
a circle's like a ball!

Other activities included coloring a strawberry red, using dot paints to trace the letter "Aa", and tomorrow the students will color a letter "Aa" red and glue ants to the letter.

Next week, it is the student's turn to feed Letter Muncher!  Your child may bring in three pictures or words to feed her!