Writing, Writing, Writing

We wanted to make sure we provided more opportunities for students to write in our classroom aside from small group writing and letter activities and writing their names on art work. Here is what we have come up with to include as part of our daily routine.

Student's write their names whenever they come in before sitting down at greeting time. They have name tags on symbols they recognize to use as a model if needed. They then place their name cards up on the wall in the blue pocket organizer. We can keep some of the name samples to see how their handwriting is developing over the school year.

After review, before washing their hands for snack, students get to 'sign-up' on our snack chart for the chore they want to help out with for the day. The assistants know their handwriting skills so even if they are at the beginning stages of writing their names, we can still recognize them.

Just and an FYI, these are the stages of writing that we see most of our students go through while in our class:

1. Random scribbling
2. Scribbling across in a horizontal direction
3. Creating letter like forms (including 0 and l )
4. Writing letters from their name (often starts with the first and the last)
5. Writing their name (by 5 years it's still big and all over the page, sometimes in random orders and that is more then ready for writing in kindergarten)

Glad Monster, Sad Monster

We ended up going two ways with Glad Monster, Sad Monster yesterday. One activity in the morning and a different one in the afternoon. Our speech therapist is out today and so because of the success of both activities yesterday, we wanted to switch them between AM and PM and do them again. This is how they went:

Emotional Charting (Tuesday AM/Wednesday PM)

We 'read' the story Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberly  & Anne Miranda. We did this by holding each of the masks up that came with the book and following the pattern of the story but replacing it with scenarios we knew the students had experienced. For example, "The timer rings and I want to keep playing but I have to clean up. That makes me sad." "My parent isn't there when it's time to go home or the bus is running late and I don't see it. That makes me worried."

Then I asked each student how they felt that day and we charted it on our chart (as shown above). Talking about familiar scenarios had them thinking of emotions they felt throughout the day and so we got more the just "happy". We then counted them up and asked which had more and less. They they students picked what they want to do while they are happy and we sang, "If you're happy and you know it, (students selected)" as they went to grab their backpacks.

Emotion Labeling (Tuesday PM/Wednesday AM)

We 'read' the story Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberly  & Anne Miranda. As with the activity above, we did this by holding each of the masks up that came with the book and following the pattern of the story but replacing it with scenarios we knew the students had experienced (for examples see above).

Then each student had a chance to roll the dice with the pictures of the monsters from the book on them (see picture below). Whatever emotion they rolled, we asked them what the emotion looks like or what they might do if they felt that way. Then we sang it to our "If you're happy and you know it" song:

"If your angry and you know it make a frown, 

If your angry and you know it make a frown,

If your angry and you know it and you've really gotta show it, 

If your angry and you know it make a frown."

We also emphasized that it's okay to feel that emotion, especially that it is okay to feel mad or angry. It's what you do that can be okay or not. It's okay to feel angry but it's not okay to push a friend. It's okay to feel angry and it's okay to say, "Stop that, I don't like that".
After each student had a turn, we sang, "If you're happy and you know it, grab your backpack" as they went to grab their backpacks.

We got the visual aides from this site: Making Learning Fun

For more information on emotional coaching, see this post: Crankenstein and Dealing with Emotions

Milk Star Shooters

This week we have been doing a fun experiment with milk, food coloring and dish detergent. When the grease-cutting soap hits the milk, it causes it to shoot out, even more visible to the eye when food coloring is added. We did it as our activity C small group this week, letting each student pick their colors and put in drops of detergent. Here is a video of one of the student's doing it:

A Snake Says, "Ssssssss"

We had surprise visitors in our PM class today. The school today had visitors from Scales and Tails. During their downtime, they came and visited our class. They brought a black and yellow python and then a huge, 110 lb, 14 foot foot long yellow python. All of the students took the opportunity to touch their scales. We talked about their colors, what they say and how to use gentle hands and soft voices. It was a fun impromptu activity. If they come again next year, we'll have to see if they can come to some of the other classes as well.

*Permission from Parent for us to post this pic.

Change in Weekly Themes

The students have just loved our Large Groups over the last few weeks and since the majority of our students only come twice a week, we are going to do some repeats with variations so they can all experience them and have access to the curriculum content.

For example, we did the story re-acting of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears on Monday and the number fishing for more and less on Tuesday. Next time we will do story re-acting of The 3 Three Little Pigs on Tuesday and the number fishing for more and less on Monday. Some of our students will get almost the same activity twice but we have observed that many of our students do even better the second time an activity is done. The small groups will be different from previous ones however, some may be similar but start on a different day of the week. We try and base our small groups (as with the large groups) on our curriculum (KDIs that you see on the lesson plan sheets) and on student interests so you will see that reflected as well in our lesson plan themes and activities.

Halloween Party Changes

Hi Parents! Quick change on the parties for today and tomorrow:

Small Group: Decorating Trick-or-Treat bags

Snack: Decorating & Eating Cookies

Large Group: Trick-or-Treating

Outside Time: Staying inside and playing Halloween Games
     Skeleton, Skeleton, Where's Your Bone
     Who's Under the blanket
     Singing Spooky Walk and Halloween House

Monthly Fill-In Activities

At the end of snack, our assistants read stories to the students at their table. Some of the books for this month include:
The Spider and the Fly
Room on the Broom
A House in the Woods
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
The Fox and the Falling Leaves
When I Feel Good About Myself
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
One Duck Stuck
Pete the Cat-Wheels on the Bus
Pumpkin Countdown

We also have different times during the day that we need 'fillers'. For example, this last week when it was too cold and wet to go outside. Some activities we are doing to fill this time include our song board, "Guess Who ( is hiding under the blanket)" & Doggy Doggy, "Where's Your Bone" (we have not done this one yet).

Favorites this last week are the Spooky Walk (Click here to hear the same version of the song we use) and "The Halloween House" (Sung to the tune of the Wheels on the Bus"). We let the students decide what is in our house and what they say or do in the house. An example:

The Ghosts in the house go whooo whooo whooo,
Whooo whooo whooo,
Whooo whooo whooo.
The Ghosts in the house go whooo whooo whooo,
On Halloween

Reading & Music Activity

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Written by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault,

Illustrated by Lois Elhert, Aladdin Paperbacks, New York 2000:

Lyrics:

A told B and B told C, “I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree”

“Whee” said D to E, F, G, “I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree”

Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom, Will there be enough room?

Here comes H up the coconut tree and I and K and tag-along K

All on their way up the coconut tree.

Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom, Will there be enough room?

Look who’s coming, it’s L, M, N, O, P

Q, R, S and T, U, V, Still more W, X, Y, Z all on their way up the…

Oh No! Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom!

Skit, skat skoodle-doot flip, flop flee,

Everybody’s running to the coconut tree

Mamas and Papas and Uncles and Aunts,

Hug their little dears and dust their pants

“Help us up” cried A, B, C. Next from the pile-up is skin-knee D

Stubbed-toed E and patched up F, then comes G all out of breath

H is tangled up with I, J and K are about to cry

L is knotted like a tie

M is looped, N is stoped, O is twisted olley-op

Skit, skat skoodle-doot flip, flop flee, look who’s coming, it’s black-eyed P

Q, R, S and loosed-toothed T, U, V, W, wiggle, jiggle free

Last to come, X, Y, Z and the sun goes down on the coconut tree

Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom, look, there’s a full moon!

A is out of bed and this what he said “Skit, skat skoodle-doot flip, flop flee, I’ll beat you at the top of the coconut tree”

Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom!

Developmental Focus: Letter Names, alphabet sequence

Activities: Signing letters, differentiating between upper and lowercase letters. Creating your own ‘coconut tree’ and placing the letters on it.

Reading & Music Activity

ABC Song

Written by Barbara Milne, Illustrated by Terri Mitchell

Sounds Like Learning CD, 2010

Lyrics:

Do you know these letters sounds, do you know these letter sounds?

They will help you learn to read, they will help you learn to read.

Apple, Apple a a A (each of these lines are repeated twice)

Baby, Baby b b B

Cookie, Cookie c c C

Dolly, Dolly d d D

Elbow, Elbow e e E

Flower, flower f f F

Garden, Garden, g g G

Hammer, Hammer h h H

Igloo, Igloo i i I

Jelly, Jelly j j J

Kitten, Kitten, k k K

Lion, Lion, l l L

Monkey, Monkey m m M

Necklace, Necklace, n n N

Ostrich, Ostrich o o O

Pumpkin, Pumpkin p p P

Quarter, Quarter, q q Q

Rabbit, Rabbit r r R

Scissors, Scissors s s S

Tiger, Tiger t t T

Undershirt, Undershirt u u U

Vacuum, Vacuum v v V

Window, window, w w W

X-ray, X-ray x x X

Yo-yo, Yo-yo y y Y

Zebra, Zebra z z Z

Developmental Focus: Letter Names and Sounds

Activities: Sign letters and words for each verse, have child go through and name each letter on each page. Create a book with pictures of familiar objects the child (e.g. Mommy, Mommy m m M, Jayden, Jayden j j J).

Summer Reading & Music Activities

Parents,

    Here are some activity ideas for you to do with your child over the summer. These are books with songs that we have been reading all year long. I am wanting to create a system in the fall where parents can 'check out' a bag with the book, music and activity sheet to take home and try. For now I hope you can find the songs on Youtube and the book at the county library. I will try and post a new one every few weeks, although they might come in rounds depending on my summer schedule. Here is the first one:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear,
What Do You See?

Written by Bill Martin Jr., Illustrated by Eric Carle,

Henry Holt and Company 1983

Music can be found on youtube and iTunes

Youtube Link: Brown Bear

Lyrics:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?

I see a Red Bird looking at Me.

Red Bird, Red Bird, What do you see?

I see a Yellow Duck looking at Me.

Yellow Duck, Yellow Duck, do you see?

I see a Blue Horse looking at Me.

Blue Horse, Blue Horse, What do you see?

I see a Green Frog looking at Me.

Green Frog, Green Frog, What do you see?

I see a Purple Cat looking at Me.

Purple Cat, Purple Cat, What do you see?

I see a White Dog looking at Me.

White Dog, White Dog, What do you see?

I see a Black Sheep looking at Me.

Black Sheep, Black Sheep, What do you see?

I see a Goldfish looking at Me.

Goldfish, Goldfish, What do you see?

I see a Teacher looking at Me.

Teacher, Teacher, What do you see?

I see Children looking at Me.

Children, Children, What do you see?

We see a Brown Bear, a Red Bird, a Yellow Duck, a Blue Horse, a Green Frog, a Purple Cat, a White Dog, a Black Sheep, a Gold Fish and a Teacher looking at us, that’s what we see.

Developmental Focus: Colors and Animal Names

Activities: Sign color and animal names, do a variety of categories with this pattern (e.g. snowman, snowman, what do you wear? I wear a black hat on my head, Snowman, snowman, what do you wear? I wear a purple scarf around my neck etc…) Make popsicle (or tongue depressor) puppets with the animals on them to hold up when they are read.

Wheeler Farm

Wheeler Farm Field Trip: It’s time for our Wheeler Farm Field Trip!
What: Come meet families, explore the farm, take a wagon ride and see the animals. The farm is free to see. To participate on the tour, it is $2.00* per person. Please plan on staying with your child if you come. Siblings and all family members welcomed!
When: Friday, October 14th, Meet for Lunch at 12:30pm. Tour starts at 1:00pm (If you want to meet up for lunch, please bring your own)
Where: Wheeler Farm (351 South 900 East, Salt Lake City,
Utah 84121) Meet in South Parking Lot at the Picnic Tables to the east or in front of the Big Red Barn for the tour.
*Let me know if you can’t pay the fee for yourself or your child and we can help you out…