Send Them Off With A Kiss!
I LOVE the book The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. The gist of it is that a baby raccoon wants nothing to do with going to night school. He’d just as soon stay home with his mom and continue to play in the forest.
Mama raccoon wisely explains that he’ll make all sorts of new friends, naming several other nocturnal animals and that he’ll really like his new teacher (an owl of course) and doing all sorts of fun school activities.
She places a kiss on his hand that travels up his arm and straight into his heart, warming him instantly. Something he can look at all evening long reminding him that “Mama loves you.”
As he excitedly scampers off to school, he pauses to kiss his mommy’s hand, letting her know that “Chester” loves her too.
My Y5’s really enjoyed this story, especially petting my soft pet raccoon puppet that would not come out of his garbage can at first because he was frightened. It’s a wonderful way to introduce feelings and graph how children felt on this first day.
I found if they got to put on a mask and pretend they were raccoons that even my shyest children could talk and tell me how they really felt. Anyone holding the raccoon was the one who got to speak and share.
Because this story is extremely popular I decided to dream up some activities your students would enjoy doing during the first week of school. Perhaps even on the first day, if it isn’t too hectic and packed with other “must get done” rules and regulations activities.
The 24-page Kissing Hand Packet includes two keepsake “craftivities” involving tracing students hands. These make wonderful and easy back to school bulletin boards.
To expedite this with little ones, have a room helper trace and cut them out in the morning, so they are ready in the afternoon.
If you don’t have anyone helping you, think about including a piece of flesh-toned construction paper in your summer note, or open house packet with an explanation to have parents trace and cut their child’s hand and return it for the first day of school.
You could also set this up as a quick “Please do!” station at your open house, if you have one before school starts.. Parents stop at the station, “get it done” and then leave it in the basket.
Click on the link to view/download The Kissing Hand Activities The Raccoon upper and lowercase letter activity packet helps with Common Core State Standard RF.K1d and RF.1.1a
Use them as flashcards, Memory Match Concentration games, or play ‘I Have, Who Has?” later in the year. I include a tip list of what else you can do with the cards.
If you want to use them on the first day, you can sprinkle them around the room, and have students find them. See how many students can identify any of the letters.
A really fun thing to do, would be to pass out the raccoon masks from the first packet. (Make ahead of time out of foam and hot glue to paint sticks.)
Tell your little ones that they are going to be Raccoon ABCDe-tectives and look for Chester's ABC card clues he’s hidden around the school. Tape them to places you want the children to learn about.
Put the Bb cards by the bathroom and then check it out. Find the Ll cards by the library, and then have the children meet the librarian.
Give the Pp and Ss cards to the principal and secretary and make a stop at the office.
Gg is for gym, Mm is for music, Cc is for computers or cafeteria. Your students will have fun spying the cards, while they tour the school and learn where things are.
Rr can land them back to your room where you can have a note from Chester and a Hershey kiss waiting on their desk.
Click on the link to view/download Raccoon Upper and Lowercase Letter Kissing Hand Activities
I hope you enjoy these activities and your first week of school is simply fantastic!
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“A good teacher is like a candle, which consumes itself to light the way for others.” -Unknown
1-2-3 Come Make A Pattern With Me!
Learning how to make, identify and extend a pattern are report card standards for our Y5’s.
They had fun doing that with all sorts of colorful manipulatives. I also used a variety of food during snack time.
They also glued mini-die cuts to a 1/2 sheet of construction paper each month, making a line pattern in their pattern booklet.
When we were out and about during field trips or for a fall or spring walk, I’d have them try and find patterns in nature as well.
Because I needed a “hard copy” to prove my students passed that assessment, I also needed to have some paper examples of them making and extending patterns, so I designed patterning skill sheets in every unit.
I just completed some anchor charts for you to laminate. You can use these as ways to whole group explain the concept.
Have students come up to the board and complete and identify the pattern.
Make this part of your daily calendar time, or plug in before or after you read a story. It only takes a minute.
You can also run off copies for your students as a worksheet, or use as an assessment when you are ready to evaluate their progress.
Because I used all of the colors and shapes, you can also take a moment to review those as well.
Click on the link to view/download the Pattern Anchor Chart Posters.
Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can stop by tomorrow for more back to school activities.
Feel free to PIN anything you think might help others.
“If we did all of the things we are capable of doing, we would truly astound ourselves!” –Thomas Edison
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Look Who's In Our Classroom!
One of my favorite books that I read during the first week of school was Chicka Boom.
My hallway bulletin board had a floor to ceiling palm tree on the side with a monkey hanging by it that would ooh ahh if you pulled its tail.
It was a great way to help anxious students calm down. “Do you want to hear my monkey talk?”
On the bulletin board was a monkey with each child’s name. During our Open House treasure hunt, students had to find their name.
Being able to recognize their name was one of our report card standards, so I was always trying to think of fun ways for my students to do that.
The caption on this b. board was: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Welcome To Our Classroom!
Another year, I skipped the b. board and used a wall to make the display even bigger because I wanted to include alphabet letters.
To get the wiggles out after reading the book, I pass out monkey masks and my Y5's played "Monkey See Monkey Do" and we copied the "Monkey In The Middle."
I know many teachers all over the country also read this book, so I wanted to design lots of activities for a variety of standards to go with it.
The Picka Chicka File Folder reinforces colors, upper and lowercase letters (Common Core State Standard RF.K1d) and shapes; as well as reading and writing.
Click on the link to view/download the 67-page Picka Chicka-Chicka Boom File Folder Packet.
Chicka Boom Boom Look Who’s In Our Classroom is an easy reader class book, that helps students get to know their new friends, reinforces name recognition, as well as upper and lowercase letters. (Common Core State Standard RF.K1d)
The 35-page Chicka Boom Trunk Tricks packet includes a variety of adorable Chicka Boom tree projects that reinforce letters, shapes, patterns, and other report card standards in a unique and fun way.
The packet includes:
- Keepsake handprint art activity
- Chicka Boom There's Enough Room booklet
- Name tree
- Vowel tree
- Count by 10's tree
- Color tree
- Pattern block tree
- Pinch & Poke tree
- Connect the ABC's tree
- Trace Race tree
- b & d tree
- Hide & seek letters tree
- Hide & seek name tree and
- A certificate of praise
Click on the link to view/download Chicka Boom Trunk Tricks
Finish up your Chicka Boom studies with this fun hands-on Chicka Boom snack.
To compliment all of the Chicka Boom activities I have a variety of monkey-themed activities as well.
Click on the link to view/download a variety of easy readers etc. This link will take you to the Monkey section, where I hope you’ll have a barrel of fun!
Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.
I hope you can swing by tomorrow for more back to school ideas.
“Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked why and pursued the answer.” –Bernard Baruch
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Let's Decorate!
Use the large road signs as gentle reminder posters for a wall.
Print double ones and hang them back-to-back with a piece of fish line and suspend from the ceiling.
Several “My students are out of this world” signs, hung from the ceiling, dangling down at various lengths in front of your back to school bulletin board, with your students’ first day photographs, would add interest.
Use the smaller ones for a bulletin board boarder, or make bookmarks, a magnet, or cut slits and make pencil toppers for your students.
Hang the “Danger” sign on your door, and suspend the “Quiet Zone Testing” one, on your doorknob when you are assessing.
Use the “Think” sign as a cover for a writing prompt for a “What are your thoughts today?” journal.
Whatever you decide to use the signs for, I hope you find them helpful.
Click on the link to view/download Student Road Signs
Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can STOP by tomorrow for more back to school ideas.
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“ I touch the future; I teach.” Ms. McAuliffe
Grammar Can Be FUN When You Make It A GAME!
Since the Goin On A Bear Hunt Punctuation and Capitalization activities were such a huge hit, as promised, I made cat, dinosaur, frog and pig, cards too.
They follow the same format. The beauty of this is, that it empowers students and builds their self-esteem.
Repetition of some activities is important, especially with young children, because they can’t read directions.
Once the teacher has read, explained and modeled an activity and students have done it, they are good to go the next time around.
This independence makes them feel great and the teacher is freed up to work one-on-one with struggling students or ESL children.
A definite win-win all around, and the big reason I set up my tabletop lessons and easy readers the way I do.
By sprinkling the cards around the room and having children search for them, you help get the wiggles out, add some variety into your students’ grammar routine, and make correcting sentences a lot more fun, than simply handing out a worksheet. + it only takes a few more minutes and your students are now excited and ready to “get down to business!”
Because of this, these cards and recording sheets make great Daily 5 or writing center activities and help students nail the Common Core State Standard: RF.1.1
Click on the links to view/download: the cat, dinosaur, frog, or piggy punctuation and capitalization activity packets.
Each set also includes a certificate of praise.
Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN anything you think others will find helpful.
I hope you can stop by tomorrow for more back to school ideas.
Do you have a back to school idea or teaching grammar tip you could share with us?
I'd enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com or post a comment here.
Thanks in advance for taking the time to do that.
If everyone took a moment to share, just think how full our bag of tricks would be, and how much easier our lives would become!
“It’s possible we could teach kids anything. I get them to live the concepts. My job is to push them. I want 30 Rocky Balboas, 30 students who are thirsting to learn.” -Joseph Vicari
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