The Mitten and Polar Express

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Due to unplanned scheduling conflicts, last Monday's AM and PM class missed the Mitten Large Group and they still want to do it so it's back on the lesson plans for this coming week.

Mitten Large Group

For our Mitten large group activity we will tell the story of the mitten with pictures from the book. The students will then be given a mask of one of the animals in the story. We found these on Jan Brett's website:  http://www.janbrett.com/mitten_masks_main.htm. We will hold out a blanket over our large mitten shape taped on the floor and sing to the tune of The Farmer and the Dell:

The mitten in the snow

The mitten in the snow

Help us please. . . so we don't freeze

The mitten in the snow

Carter squeezes in

Carter squeezes in

Help us please. . . so we don't freeze

The mitten in the snow

Once everyone in the whole class is under the sheet we will all sneeze "Ah, Ah, Ah, Chooo!!!!!" And everyone will rush out of the "mitten" and back to their seat.

Polar Express Large Group

"All aboard!" Students get to take their tickets and go on an obstacle course to the North Pole. Under the table, around the mountain, through the tunnel, over the bridge, on the tracks and stopping at the north pole. For more details, here is a link to the last time we did it with just a 'train theme' (click here)

The Mitten & Jingling Many Ways

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The Mitten

For our Mitten large group activity we will tell the story of the mitten with pictures from the book. The students will then be given a mask of one of the animals in the story. We found these on Jan Brett's website:  http://www.janbrett.com/mitten_masks_main.htm. We will hold out a blanket over our large mitten shape taped on the floor and sing to the tune of The Farmer and the Dell:

The mitten in the snow

The mitten in the snow

Help us please. . . so we don't freeze

The mitten in the snow

Carter squeezes in

Carter squeezes in

Help us please. . . so we don't freeze

The mitten in the snow

Once everyone in the whole class is under the sheet we will all sneeze "Ah, Ah, Ah, Chooo!!!!!" And everyone will rush out of the "mitten" and back to their seat.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingling Many Ways

Every student gets their own Jingle Bells, we then sing the song Jingle Bells, but with a twist:

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way

Oh what fun it is to shake my Jingle Bells today, Hey!

Shake them high, shake them low, shake them fast and shake them slow

Oh what fun it is to shake my Jingle Bells, Ho Ho.

Each student gets to choose a different verb, we'll give ideas like, tap, twirl, bounce, twist etc. 

From: http://theteacherwife.blogspot.com/2012/09/dont-eat-pete.html

Week of Thanksgiving

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Three Pigs and Jack

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The Three Little Pigs Large Group:

"I will huff and I will puff and I will blow your house down!" We will tell the story of the 3 Little Pigs with visual aides including sequencing cards, straw, sticks and a brick. The students will follow along as they do the actions and say the words.

Jack Be Nimble Large Group:

Jack be nimble, 

Jack be quick, 

Jack jumped over the candle stick. 

The students each get to take a turn deciding how they want to jump based on a choice of prepositions. For example, over, under, behind and in front over. While they do it, the rest of us will pat our knees and chant the rhyme as they do it.

Levels and Heights Small Group:

Just as an FYI, we have made our levels out of science tubes with water, food coloring and just enough space left for an air bubble.

From: http://peoniesandpoppyseeds.com/

Goldilocks, Three Bears and a Pile of Leaves

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Leaf Hunt Large Group

We have a leaf hunt chant with pictures that we are going to say introducing different attributes of leaves; big, small, colors, and positional and directional words as well. We will then take a walk around the school, using these words and reinforcing these concepts as the students find leaves to collect.

We're Going on a Leaf Hunt Chant:

“We’re going on a leaf hunt”

“We’re going to find some big ones”

“Some Small ones too!”

“Some might Be Yellow”

“Some might Be Brown”

“Some might Be Red”

“We’re going on a leaf hunt”

“We’re going to find some big ones”

“Some Small ones too!”

“Look, Ones up High”

“Stretch way up!”

“Reach to the sky!”

 “We’re going on a leaf hunt”

“We’re going to find some big ones”

“Some Small ones too!”

“Look way down low”

“Reach way down”

“Now grab it as you touch your toes!”

Goldilocks and the Three Bears Large Group

We have lots of copies of this story in the classroom and the students love it. Some of them dress up during work time as 'papa bear' and other characters. Other times they like to fill in the story with their own names. During our large group. We'll act out a simplified version of it over and over so everyone can have a turn. We'll emphasize attributes such as big, medium, small, hot, cold, hard and soft and sequencing. The students will have props to use and they can add their own names in as well if they would like.

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)

You are a Lion and Red is the Color

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You Are a Lion Large Group:

We will read the book You Are a Lion and Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo. As we read, we will follow along with the Yoga poses. Our main focus of this activity is to build body awareness, follow directions and count as we breath. That being said, there are other good benefits to children doing yoga. If you're interested in finding about it more, check out this handout from Super Duper (click here).

After we read the book, we have some cards from ABC Yoga for Kids. Students will have turns picking out what figure they would like to pose like. Each time we pose, we will hold it for 10 seconds while we breath.

Red is the Color Large Group:

We have a set of big color books from Lakeshore. Each one has a song the says and spells the colors and colorful pictures that go with it. For example, for the color green:

Green is the color of the grass

And shamrocks in the springtime.

G-R-E-E-N, G-R-E-E-N, G-R-E-E-N,

Let's spell the color green again.

Each student will get a turn to pick the color they want us to sing next as a group.