A classic start of the school year them is All About Me. We love to focus on learning about our students and allow them to learn about us. What a great start to building relationships in the classroom! Let me share with you some of our Kinder Friendly All About Me Ideas. All About Me Reader First, we use this fun all about me reader to have the students learn about themselves as well as … [Read more...]
Easy Tissue Paper Leaves Art
Check out this fun art project for the fall that even the littlest learners can complete: Tissue paper Leaves Art. You Will Need Here are the items you will need for this project: Food sorting tray (I got mine at the dollar store.)Tissue paper squaresGlue bottlePencilLeave outline on white construction paper with thick lines. Table Set Up Here is how to set up this art project for … [Read more...]
The heART of it
Integrating art in the classroom is a crucial step in making lessons meaningful, fun, and memorable. Yes- art makes our hallways and classrooms more colorful and inviting. Most teachers love a good looking bulletin board or door display, and although that is a fine reason to create art... to make the classroom decorated with items the students created is meaningful. But there are so many more … [Read more...]
Too Many Toys {David Shannon}
Hi Spencer. Spencer, Spencer, Spencer... Is that you... from Too Many Toys? That awesome David Shannon book about the kid with TONS of Toys? I love to use this book in our David Shannon Author Study to discuss and use the PROBLEM in the story on the lines. Then we give three solutions to the problem in the circles. I love using this book for the the problem because this is a … [Read more...]
Bad Case of Stripes {David Shannon}
Who loves "A Bad Case of Stripes" by David Shannon? I am a HUGE David Shannon fan. He is my all time FAVORITE author and illustrator. Each school year, I end the year with an author study featuring David Shannon. And I LOVE Camilla Cream and her stripes. This step of the author study has us focusing on three events in the book. We watch this video of this story on Storyline … [Read more...]
Lovely Leaves Art Leaves
I love using art to tie together science concepts and other skills we are working on. One of the art projects we do each fall involves using these leaf rubbing plates. We talk about how each leaf can tell us the type of tree. Of course all my little ones enjoy hunting and discovering leaves. We usually find several kinds of trees and their leaves, but it is SO fun to show my little ones … [Read more...]
Easy Easter Art
Need a simple, easy art project for Easter? Check out this watercolors Easter eggs art project. How to Prep Watercolor Eggs Here is how you can prepare these eggs. First, trace several eggs shapes onto white construction paper. I recommend white construction paper instead of copy paper because it absorbs the water better and leaves less of a mess. Next, using regular glue to … [Read more...]
Insect Ideas {Part 1}
Creepy Crawlies are NOT my favorite things to HAVE in my classroom, but I do love to TEACH about them in my classroom. My students LOVE to learn about insects and I love to encourage their minds to work in whatever sparks interest in their minds. Yes, even creepy crawly creatures. Let's Talk About Insect Ideas. Insect Ideas: Caterpillars We made these fun caterpillars in a very different … [Read more...]
Oh My… Apple Pie!
We finished up apples a few weeks ago, but I HAD to show you some of our awesome apple projects! Here is some pictures of my door with an apple basket and Johnny Appleseed. I love Cupcake for a Teacher and so do my students. We used her Johnny Appleseed Crafts to make Johnny himself. It is suppose to be a writing activity, but we used the craft to make Johnny memorable to us. {Hence I made up … [Read more...]
In 1492…
Columbus sailed right into your classroom with a pack that is ready to use and is so much FUN for your students to learn through... Yeah... it is happening. I worked on updating and extending my Columbus Day Hooray Unit. {In fact, hubs says he is tired of seeing this pack on my computer! He hasn't seen my office yet, but Columbus EXPLODED in there too!} Here is what the pack looks … [Read more...]
David Shannon Author Study
Every May, my class does a David Shannon Author Study because I adore David Shannon almost as much as my students do. Before the Common Core rolled out, I felt my kids needed to learn about stories and gain reading comprehension skills to be successful in 1st grade. Hence, we learned through the fun and inspiring David Shannon books. Now that the Common Core is here, this unit ties in … [Read more...]
First Day Art Project
Do you need a fun, quick art project to complete with your class on the first day of school? You will love this first day art project. Each year, my team does the same art project on the first day of school. First, we do it as an easy assessment- what can they do? But, we want them to write their name, color, cut, and glue. (And of course follow directions!) How to Use this First Day Art … [Read more...]
