What is in the Witch's Soup?

We are getting ready for Halloween, so we read a cute little story called Spooky Hour.  This book works on counting backwards with numbers 1-12.  My kids love to count the "spooky things" on each page, just to make sure the illustrator didn't mess up!  :)  I made this cute little game to go with the story.  What is in the Witch's Soup?

This game has the kids in pairs with two dice.  Each person will roll, count the dots, and color the matching number in the Witch's soup.  The first person to fill the Witch's bowl wins.  I tell them that if they roll a number that they have already colored in, then just pass the dice to their partner.  They are just soooo amazed when they roll a number twice, or three times, or four times.......  hahaha  :)

You can download this little freebie from my TPT store.  Have fun and Happy Halloween!

What is in the Witch's Soup?

A Pumpkin Patch in My Classroom

Halloween is almost here and oh my..... there is a pumpkin patch in my classroom.  

 

I have several kiddos that need some fine motor strengthening activities.  So why not tear more paper! (We did this when we ripped red paper for our R.) This time we tore orange and green paper and made a pumpkin. 

Writing Helpers

I posted about this earlier, but I wanted to share it again because I have had several people ask about it.  I created this fun little poster to help my students remember the difference between a "b" and a "d."  I like to make things real for them so we all stand up and act out our little saying.

"b's have bellies and d's don't"  We pat our bellies and then pat our backsides! :)  This cute little poster, Those Crazy b's and d's, is available on TPT in PDF or JPeg format.  My kids crack up every time we do it, and I crack up when I see them doing it on their own!

Count and Write with Me!

We have been working on 1:1 counting and printing for numbers up to 20.  Some of my students are doing really well, but some of them are still unsure about the numbers over 10.  I like to do a lot of our activities in pairs if possible so there is support and encouragement.  

We play a little game called Count and Write with Me.  One student, the "teacher,"  writes down a number between 1 & 20 on a white board.  (We have our number lines with us for support.)  Then they show it to the other person, the "student."  The student has to tell the teacher what the number is and then count out that many objects.  We have a lot of manipulatives in our classroom, so they love it when I tell them they get to pick what objects they will be working with that day. :)

I have them count out loud to their partner, while the partner counts in his/her head and "checks."  If they are right they get a star!  If they are incorrect, then the "teacher" (I have so many great little teachers), help them fix it.  When you tell them they get to be the teacher, their faces just light up! 

Where's My Mummy Counting Freebie

Today we read the book, Where's My Mummy.  This is such a cute story!  Baby Mummy searches everywhere for his Mommy Mummy.  :)

I had a room full of excited little boys and girls when I told them that we were going to turn some of them into mummies.  Wow!  All you need is a little roll of toilet paper, and you can change the world into one exciting place.

After we cleaned up the room.....lol.....we had to do a little work.  I created these fun little Where's My Mummy counting worksheets to accompany the book and our fantastic activity.  One page works on numbers 1-10, and one page works on numbers 11-20.  The kids have to count and match Baby Mummy with his Mommy Mummy.

I like this activity because I can challenge my kids that are ready with numbers 11-20, and my other students who still need practice on 1-10 don't feel like they are doing anything different.  :)  Click here to download this great little freebie, Where's My Mummy Counting, from TPT.

Kindergarten Faith

Stick Your Nose in a Corner - Fun With Shapes!

We all remember that century old punishment....stick your nose in a corner, I just love to use it when we are working on sides and corners of shapes.  They totally get it if you tell them to stick their nose in a corner! :)

So like always we start with sides, and then we move to corners.  We talk about that the corner is the place where the two sides meet.  Now let's make it with our hands.  Side, side, and then ....... put your nose in the "corner."  Yeah  They just giggle.  :)

After we finished finding the corners in our classroom ......hahaha...... we did a fun little shape sorting paper, 2-D Flat Shapes Packet, created by Nicole Lanier from Lanier's Lions.  The kids had to sort the shapes based on the number of sides and corners.  Later during the day we enjoyed her fun little Tangram Scarecrow page.   Thanks Nicole! 

Halloween, I Can Write My Numbers

I just finished the Halloween version of my I Can Write My Numbers unit.  It includes writing pages for 1-10, 1-20, 1-50 and 1-100 (with and without line).  There are so many fun games you can play with this.

Have students play Teacher/Student, one student writes and one student tells them if they are printing correctly. Then switch.  :)

When they first start writing to 100, making it all the way can be very overwhelming to some, so let them trade off rows.  They love the interaction and they really don't feel like they are working.  Click here to find this unit on TPT.

If I Built a Car

We use Animated Literacy at our school, so when we can finally read "car" the kids look sooooo forward to computer lab time.  We read a book called If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen.

This is a story about a little boy who designs his own car, and let me tell you it is a hum-dinger of a car!  lol :0)  There is fun little game on ABCya.com that lets kids design their own car too.  They love it!  The kids can give their car a name and then print their design.  They are so proud that they designed it and got to pick what went were.  (And I mean....what went where!  Some of the cars had stuff all over!)  Here are some of the designs from my classroom.  Who knows, one of these kids could be designing your car in the future!!  hahaha

I Can Write My Numbers!

I just finished putting together this little activity, I Can Write My Numbers!  Everyone has to practice, so I have included pages for writing 1-10, 1-20, 1-50, and 1-100.

Some students still need the structure/guidance of lines, while other students have already transitioned.  Each set in this unit is printed with and without line.  One of the games we like to play is Teacher/Student.  The kids trade off writing numbers.  The "Student" writes a number and the "Teacher" tells them if is correct or how to fix it.  Then they trade!  :)  Click here to find this on TpT!  Look for more themed writing pages to come!

Froot Loop Patterns, Yummy!!!!

I know that it is fall and everyone is excited about Halloween, but we just had to stop and eat!  Froot Loops......yummy!! :)  We have been working on patterns, and there is nothing better than working and eating at the same time.  Yeah!  I love this activity because we can do so many things - sort, make patterns, and count.  The first thing I have the kids do is sort the Froot Loops on their plate.  PS. They are already telling me how to do it because they are sooooo smart.  :)

Then we start in with our patterns.  I tell them the kind of pattern I want, and they get to make it with what ever colors they want.

After we finish each pattern, I have them side the Froot Loops back on their plate and sort again.  Finally..... the time they have all been waiting for  .....  let's eat!  They like to count,  eat 5, eat 3, eat 2 yellows, etc.  This is always so much fun!   Click here to download the fun Froot Loop Pattern page Freebie I just made. (TPT)  A little late (as you can see from my pictures), but you know..... good things come to those who wait.   lol   Sometime I am so inspired after the fact!  hehehe  Plus, it is sooo cute!

Fall Patterns

I just finished the Fall version of my Pattern Perfect Unit!  I know that patterns are not on the Common Core Standards, but if you are in Kansas like me, we get to keep them! Yeah.  This unit includes 15 pages with coloring and painting instructions for AB, AAB, ABB, and ABC patterns.

For everyone else, I hope you get time to teach patterns too.  (I just love patterns.)  :)  We ate patterns on Friday.  I will get pictures of that up soon.  lol

Click here to find this unit on TPT!

Pass the Purse

Identifying initial sounds comes easy for some, but it can be difficult for others.  We play a little game called "Pass the Purse" to work on this skill.  It is kind of like Hot Potato, and the kids love it because they get to sing too!

We start by sitting in a circle.  I put a lot of small objects/toys in a bag (our purse) like a cat, dog, pen, frog, glasses, monkey, tiger, etc.  Then we start singing, "Pass, pass, pass, the purse, pass it round and round.  We're looking for a special sound and look at what we've found!"  The purse is passed while we are singing, and the person who has the purse when the song stops gets to pick out an object.  He or she will tell us the initial sound the object's name makes and letter that makes that sound.  Then we start again! :0)

The kids love this game, and it keeps everyone very engaged!  There are many other ways you can use this simple song to activate learning.  Click on the link below to hear the song on YouTube.

Pass the Purse

"An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." Proverbs 18:15