Special Days - February

Click on the picture to get a full-sized version you can copy, save, and print.

100s Chart Puzzles

Getting ready for the 100th Day of School, I wanted to do something different than what I've done in past years. I found this 100s Chart online, and ran off five copies on the same color tag. (If you click on picture below, you'll get a larger version you can save and print yourself.)

I then cut each sheet in different ways, so that each one was an individual puzzle. Here's what one looks like put together.

And what it looks like cut apart.

One of my stations will be for the children to work together to put all five puzzles together.

Paper Plate Snowman Art Activity, With Freebie!

I came up with this idea after looking at a lot of paper plate snowmen on other teachers' walls. But theirs use three little plates, and I wanted to do something different. So I created the template below. I think they turned out pretty cool!

If you click on the template, you'll get the full 8.5x11 inch version you can right click, save, and then print.

My Math Stations for the Weeks of 1/20 and 1/27

Station One: We're doing a giant floor mat puzzle of Blue's Clues. This isn't an easy one to put together because almost all the pieces are a solid blue color, so it will challenge each group.

Station Two: Tally Ho!
This game I created is explained here, including the freebie.

Station Three: Shape Up!
This game I created is explained here, including the freebie.

Station Four: A Jar of Winter
You can get the freebie here.

Station Five: Play Doh Shapes Mats
You can get these freebies here.

My Language Arts Stations for the Weeks of 1/20 and 1/27

Station #1 - Guided Reading with me

Station #2 - Highlight the Letter
These two weeks we'll be doing K and L.

Station #3 - Computers and Listening Center
The book we're listening to is Hibernation Station.

Station #4 - Sight Word Memory
I got this freebie here.

Station #5 - Write the Room
This time we're looking for the green index cards.

Using Giant Floor Puzzles for Math Stations

I have a few giant floor puzzles that I haven't been able to utilize this year, since the children have to be on the carpet to put them together. I'm going to periodically begin putting one of the puzzles in our math stations. I've always been a firm believer in using puzzles in the classroom to stimulate the brain, and this will be a great way to have the children working as a team to get the puzzles completed within a set amount of time.

Our Seasons Trees

 We finished our study of the seasons by doing an easy "Seasons Trees" art activity.

We folded a sheet of art paper in quarters. Then we labeled each quarter with the names of the seasons. Next, we drew "trees" (a Y with an added branch in the middle) on each quarter. Of course, winter trees remain bare. For spring, we used our fingertips and watercolors to add a few green leaves. Summer meant thick, bushy green trees. And fall means leaves in gold, orange, red, and brown (with a few on the ground).

It's the Little Things That Make You Smile

The weather got warmer this week, and we had a little rain. But we were able to go outside for recess and run off some of our excess energy. The kids quickly found out that if they tried to go down the slide, their pants got wet. They never thought about wiping the water off the equipment. I couldn't help but laugh. Don't worry! Your pants will quickly dry in 72 degree weather!

Read Backwards!

Here's a little tip and trick I use. Once my kids have read through their readers for a few days, for fun I have them read the book backwards. Not only do they think this is this funniest stuff they've ever heard, but as a teacher I can tell who really can read/sound out the words, and isn't relying on memorization.

The Seasons - A Science Project/Activity, with a Freebie!

 We've been studying the four seasons, so I decided to conclude the unit by having the children make little booklets.

Step One, Day One:
I took 3 sheets of paper (I had lots of colored paper to utilize), folded them in half, and stapled together. The students put the title on the front cover, and their names. I had to laugh at how many wrote the word "name", instead of their names. LOL!

Following that, they wrote WINTER on the first page, SPRING on the next page, SUMMER on the next, and finally FALL.

Step Two, Day Two:
I gave each child a copy of the seasonal calendar (below). They cut out the months and glued them to the correct page/season.

Step Three, Day Three:
I then collected several pictures off the internet. The students had to pick one picture to represent each season, and include it on that page.

Below is the template of seasonal months. Just click on it to get a full-sized version you can copy and print.

My Math Stations for the Weeks of 1/6 and 1/13 - with a Freebie!

Station #1 - Calendar Math
They'll use Vis-a-Vis markers on laminated templates to write the month of January.

Station #2 - Shapes Memory Game
I got this freebie here. It's meant for Thanksgiving, but the kids don't care.

Station #3 - The Gingerbread Boy Game
I made this one using a pattern I found on the internet. I ran off a copy on white, and one on brown tag. The tag I marked and cut so that it takes 6 pieces to make the character. Use one die (we're using a tally mark this week, and a word die next week) to roll. Put the numbered piece on the template. If you roll a number you already have, you lose that turn. First one to finish their gingerbread boy wins.

Station #4 - Tally Mark Dominoes
I made this game for the kids to quickly visualize tally marks up to six.

Station #5 - Roll and Uncover WINTER
Instead of rolling a die and covering this game board, they UNcover it. (Or, you can cover the snowflakes, but I wanted them to do something different.) Must roll the Exact Number at the end to win! (Instead of a regular die, I'm using one with tally marks, then with number words.)

Here's the 8.5x11 template. Click it to get the full size you can download and print (one for each student).

My Language Arts Stations for the Weeks of 1/6 and 1/13

Station #1 - guided reading with me

Station #2 - split computer stations and listening center
One week two will go to computers, and the other two will go to the listening center where they'll listen to the book/CD The Penguin Who Wanted to Fly. The next week, they'll swap places.

Station #3 - Stencil Your Name
The kids had so much fun using these stencils to make their names on sentence strips.

 



Station #4 - Highlight a Letter
We're doing I and J these two weeks.

Station #5 - Cupcake Words
I got the freebie on Pinterest, but I can't find the link. :(
But the kids try to make words by putting the cupcakes "together". If they make a real word, they write it on the paper. Because we have a limited amount of copies we can make, I'm putting sheets on cardstock to laminate. The students will use a Vis-à-vis marker to write their words, then clean off the card with a paper towel to reuse by the next group.

Special Days - January

Click on the picture to get a larger version you can print out.

Happy New Year!