Some Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Activities

One of these activities is for now and the other is for later in the year.  

 NOW...

Chicka Numbers for a Headband

 FOR LATER...

This creation was inspired by my class from last school year.  After we completed our study of the alphabet, we needed to move on to decoding.  Still, my class continued to beg to revisit Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  I like use my student's input in lessons and learning, but again, we needed to move on. So over the summer, I  began to make this so in the future students could have the best of both worlds.

Click the get a free copy on my TN store.

I made this video to go with this as well.

I made it using the Knowmia App. 

I hope you found something useful today.

Mm is for Monster

The first week of kindergarten is done!  It was an exhausting first day, but by day two there was an extremely significant improvement!! Students remembered the routines that were shared from the first day.  Most remembered what to do when they heard the verbal commands.

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The first letter that I like to teach is the letter Mm.  I like to use monsters to reinforce the concept. I enjoy this big book for shared reading.

                              

Today we had a little fun with watercolors for our "Mm is for monster" activity.  These pictures were printed on card stock.

Here are the Mm is for monster pictures if you would like to try this with your class.

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Don't forget about the big TPT sale!

 TPT 

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I was really excited that I was able to welcome my students without breaking the bank! All I needed was construction paper and some cute pencils. 

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This year we are using more activity based homework instead of worksheets.  We are asking parents to work with their children on specific skills. This is our shapes study page. Click on the image  if you would like a copy.

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Pete the Cat Template for Rhyming Craftivity

We'll get back to Pete in a minute, but first I want to let you know about these events over at Teacher's Notebook. First, head over to read my teaching tip article...

Click to go the Teaching Tip page!

Back to Pete...

I know I am a bit slow creating something for Pete. Everyone posted items for him last year!

I am going to try to get a ahead of the game! I just visited the Harper Collins Children's website and discovered that many more adventures for Pete are on the way! I can't wait to see what I can do with these...

This book seems like it will be perfect for the beginning of the school year.

My activity is based on the first book, Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes!

I thought I would create an activity that would review colors and introduce rhyming together.  Also, I wanted it to be something that I could hang up to decorate the room.  

My class last year loved Pete!  Many purchased the "I can read" versions of his stories to read by the end of the year.  I hope this project creates a new generation of Pete lovers that are motivated to read! Click the image to get your copy!

Rhyming Bridge Thinking Map Freebie

I have created another couple of Educreations lessons.  These are rhyming lessons to use with my rhyming bridge map.

 The second Educreations lesson is here if you would like to use it.

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This bridge map has been a work in progress for a while.  The first time it did not line up at all.  After several tries, I believe I have remedied this problem. Unfortunately, there was no place for the "RF" (relating factor) in the revised version. Perhaps students can write these on the back or it can written as a heading for a wall display.

Bridge Thinking Map Template

(print a copy, cut apart on the dotted lines, glue the two pieces together to create one long bridge map.)

Rhyming Pictures

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If you're like me and unable to attend any fancy conferences this summer, don't fret!  I have been getting professional development free from the comfort of my couch by using the following resources from Whole brain Teaching.

 Check it out because I think it could be helpful to you!

                                                                                                               

Syllables with Mr. Syllabot Freebie

Here is a short video demonstrating how to teach syllables using my Mr. Syllabot resources available at my TPT or TN stores. 


Here is a Syllabot Freebie to try.
Click the images to download each of the two parts.

Full project includes templates for the student Mr. Syllabot, 4 pages of sorting cards, large size sample cards to create Mr. Syllabot anchor chart.

End of the School Year and June Randomness

1)  Today is my one year bloggerversery.  My first post ever featured this picture of Ton Jones from "Auction Hunters."  How did I get this?  He came to our school site last school year  and participated in a RC car show for the kids.  He was so sweet he stuck around after the show and met all the children. He even signed autographs for the 6th graders who were absolutely starstruck!!!


2)  My husband insists on doing the Soda Trick every year to entertain the children in my class. Unfortunately, it only lasts a few seconds. We recorded it this time, so the children can relive it as often as they would like!

3)  I cant say enough about the floating and sinking experiments done at the end of the year!  I actually tricked those little ones into learning when they were quite finished with learning!  I began with a group modeling activity and taught the word "hypothesis."  We used the following recording sheet to keep track. 

This picture shows a student's drawing of the item and his hypothesis before the object is tested.  (Can you see the picture of the bear?)

The plastic bear was placed into the water and it floated.

Hypothesis Recording Sheets

You can also return to the previous post to collect this free reader. It  accompanied these lessons! Click the image to return to the previous post.

4)  Having a class pet is a must!  I have a hermit crab that I kept in the classroom this year.  Despite the opinion that hermit crabs make boring pets, I found him to be rather active during the day.  He is a climber and was often seen on top of various objects in the tank.  Many visitors stopped to marvel at him, as well as the children.  As I said, he is a very busy creature.  I recommend getting one of these for  your classroom.  He is very easy to take care of, never became a burden or an extra chore.  

5) Father's day is just around the corner and my son and I plan to make this project from Smart-Bottom Enterprises for the special man in our lives. Check it out!

Floating and Sinking Emergent Reader Booklet Freebie

I was very disappointed that sinking and floating experiments were not included as any part of the next generation science standards.  I love doing this each year with my class and modeling the scientific method. It is simple, affordable, and fun!! 

At any rate, I managed to squeeze this in during the last week of school.  My class was done with intense lessons. They were ready for something different.  They were ready for some hands-on experimentation. And I was able to tie it into reading!!!

I have some nonfiction floating and sinking big books that we read together as a class, like the one below.

In addition, this emergent reader booklet integrates the floating and sinking theme into reading!! And it also your freebie today!!

Click the image below to grab a copy!!

I would also like to share this gem!  I was not able to share it with my class, because it is only available on YouTube and I could not access it through the district server.   However, I played it at home for my second grade son and he was glued to his seat! It is an interactive video. Give it a try on your computer!! (It doesn't work on the iPad.)