Fun with the Alphabet

I love introducing new letters to the class.  We always use a full sheet of construction paper and then make a silly but memorable alliteration such as "Practically Perfect Purple Pianos." Then we assemble the "letters" to form a capital and a lowercase letter to match the one we are studying.  Here it letter "Tt."

The class loves watching it come together.  It is silly but they "totally" get it. Pun intended.

The "T" to the left has a speech bubble saying "T - is for Totally Terrific Tom Turkeys!"

Here is a picture for our letter "P" and we only did the capital letter.

Each letter was too big to form both upper and lowercase letters.

Try it in your classroom.  They will love it.

Hurricane Sandy - Teachers Helping Teachers

My family and I live in Milford, CT.  So many people here have had water damage, homes destroyed, cars hit by trees... The power of water is really amazing.  The rectory of our church is in  Time magazine.  The water actually pulled the concrete steps off the building and ripped up the concrete patio.  People are resilient and everyone is helping.  We have been without power since Monday and might get it back on Tuesday.  School is opening tomorrow even though buses will not be running...  We were very lucky.
   If you are interested in helping teachers who need help, link up with Laura at The ESOL Odyssey who has put together a linky to connect resource donations with teachers in need. If you can help, or need help, please click on the link.  Good luck to all!

 

Hillebrand the Wicked Witch

I feel that we cannot do enough creative drawing with our classes.  Just spending time drawing and coloring is something most kindergartners do very little of these days.

I came across a wonderful poem that describes "Willebrand - a Wicked Witch."  Working with older buddies, (I have done it with 3rd and also with 8th grades buddied with my kindergartners.) the students use their listening skills and their imagination to draw a witch as described in the poem.

Wicked Witch Willebrand

Wicked Witch Willebrand was scary indeed,

A nose like a banana, eyes like seeds.

Her mouth was so wide it dimpled her cheeks,

And made it quite difficult for her to speak.

Willebrand’s ears were large and very furry.

Her hair was bright red and always quite curly.

On top of her head was hat oh so tall,

If she didn’t stand up straight, most likely she’d fall.

Very long fingers were on her broad hands.

She wore rings of many colors, purple, red, green, and tan.

Her nails were two feet long and pointed like a steeple.
Wow! What a scary sight she must have been to people!

Her black dress was long, usually dragging on the street,

But the funniest part was her tiny little feet.

Her five toes were curled up as she walked to and fro.

But where could such a funny lady really go?

Here are some samples our final products this year. I highly recommend it.  Not one student said they couldn't do it and all were quite proud of their uniquely individual final products.

Red and yellow make orange!

One of my favorite fall projects is creating a pumpkin patch.  It begins with having my class mix red and yellow paint to make - yes, orange.  After it dries, the students cut out their own pumpkin, add a stem and make a "vine."  The vine is make from cutting "snake" out of a circle. The pumpkins find a place in the pumpkin patch and the fun begins.  The varied shades of orange - red/orange are amazing. Some years we add corn stalks and scarecrows, fencing... This year we went with the simple addition of bats.  This involved tracing the "head" and "wings."  They boys added "scary" red eyes and sharp teeth.  

On "Halloween" the students will carve their pumpkins.  I think that is my favorite part. Equipped with a fresh sharpie, the pumpkins get their "faces." Here is the patch as we see it now.  I will add the photo after the "carving" is completed.

"P" is for pirates, and pirate patches!

We are having such fun with the letter P.

At one of my many trips to the Christmas Tree shop, I found Pirate moustaches for only .59 - really?  Yes, for less than one dollar.  The beards look so real!

I happen to teach all boys.  Tell me any boys that does love and/or love to dress like a pirate!

It just so happens, that my partner had saved a pirate mask from one of her son's old birthday parties he attended.  The final effect was amazing.  I printed the photos in a poster using "wallet" size pictures.  The class loves to look it and guess each pirate's name!

 

 

 

Learning Addresses

My class has been working on learning their addresses.  They were promised that once they "knew" their addresses we would mail a letter!  Well they finally did it.

I had them each "address" an envelope.  All they had to do was to write their name in the right place.  Next, they dictated their address, and I wrote it down. Then they drew a picture on a paper that said, "I know my address!"  at the top.  I added a little note and some Halloween stickers (they did not know that part!)  I stuffed the envelopes.

In advance, we scheduled time in our mailroom.  With our letters in hand, we headed to the meet with our helper and put our envelopes in the machine to get our "stamps!"  The best part was that they barely were able to reach the machine.

Here is hoping that they get them tomorrow!  They were so excited!

Surveys

In math we have been working on making graphs.  We made pictoral graphs, vertical graphs and horizontal graphs.  Needless to say, they have had lots of practice. 

You can find great Halloween stamps at Joann Fabrics.  For under $3 I got a small bag with 12 different stamps.

Each boys chose 2.  We typed the names of each student at the bottom of the page and made a simple T-bar chart at the top of the page.  Using the all wonderful clip boards, the students went around asking their friends which of the 2 stamps they chose, was the one they liked best.  After each child answered, their name was crossed off the bottom.  Great reinforcement of the names...

The next day, they used the answers to complete both a horizontal and a vertical graph.  Sadly, I did not photograph the graphs, just the collection of the data.