I am joining up with Mrs. Wills from Mrs. Wills' Kindergarten to donate something to the teachers in Joplin. Mrs. Wills received this email below:
I teach in Joplin, which made worldwide news last May when our town was cut in half by an F5 tornado. Many of our elementary schools were destroyed or damaged, and as teachers, we have had a roller coaster year. I came from a meeting yesterday where many are struggling with the weight of all we are dealing with. My request is this: would you be willing to donate a created pack of your choosing to give away at a drawing at our upcoming district Kindergarten grade level meeting? The meeting is Monday and I am sorry for the short notice but I did not realize until the meeting how down everyone is feeling.
If you're a teacher that has a website that offers items on TPT or Teacher's Notebook, or you have a website like mine, won't you consider donating something to send. How wonderful to just overload them with units/activities and really show them the love of fellow teachers. Click on the link to head over to Mrs. Wills' to link up and join this WONDERFUL idea!!
I had no idea what unit to send so I thought why not let them have the opportunity to be able to choose what they’d like, so I'm donating 3 subscriptions to TeachWithMe.com Those teachers can download everything from the shopping cart for an entire year. I hope this in some small way helps put a smile on someone's face, I can't even imagine the tremendous loss the people of Joplin must feel.
Punched 100 Day Banners
I wanted to give you plenty of time to dash off to the store to get some cool metal punches or track down the teacher or scrapbook queen who has a great collection, so that you can borrow them for 100 Day, so I’m posting this 100 Day idea a bit early for some of you, others may be celebrating in January all-to-soon!
This quick and easy center makes an awesome bulletin board, or punch a hole in the top corners, slide a piece of yarn through and you’ve got lovely banners to hang back-to-back from the ceiling or as a border along the top wall of your hallway.
Simply set up a table with a variety of punches, this could also be done with stamps or stickers. Add a student's picture in the top corner and you've made a nice keepsake.
Inform your students that the things they cut out or stamp will take the place of zeros, and that they will also need to make a 1 to go in front.
Since my punches are large, I cut construction paper banners that were 5 ½ x 11 ½. Make yours smaller if you’re using stamps or stickers. These will make cute bookmarks.
To expedite things and make the banners pop, I made up labels. You could also have your students practice their writing skills and have them write at the top and bottom of their banners.
I’m posting the label templates in DOC format so that you can simply type in something else if you want.
Highlight my name and type in your students’ names. Put Avery labels in your printer (my printer has them face-down) and click print. I do ONE sheet at a time. Click on the links to view/print the 100 Day, name label #1 and 100 days smarter label #2
Put your labels at your table top center. Students find their name, peel and stick! Click on the link to view/print the article's directions & pix, 100-Day Banner idea. Click on the link to zoom to my other 100-Day FREEBIES.
Thank you for visiting. Feel free to PIN anything you think others will find helpful.
"It is a happy talent to know how to play." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
I know it's a bit early, but for some of you who started school in August, 100 Day will soon be here. I wanted to whip this 100 Day idea off so that it's in plenty of time for you to make these 100 Day booklets so you can start this activity 10 days BEFORE you celebrate 100 Day or 9 days if you want to write the last 10 words to = 100 words on 100 Day!
Challenge your students to try and learn 10 new words each day before the big day and by 100 Day they will have learned 100 new words! Wow.
Or... you could choose to review 10 words each day that you’ve been working on since whenever. This is great for word wall words, CVC words, or spelling words.
Run off my cover, or have students create their own “My Word Book” covers by stamping letters with your letter stamps or cutting out letters from magazines, like a ransome note and then spelling out the title on their favorite half sheet of colored construction paper.
Staple their cover along with 10 sheets of writing paper and the other ½ of their construction paper for a back, and you’ve got a nifty word book in a jiffy!
When your students have completed their 100 words for 100 Day booklets, reward their worderful word work with a special 100 Day Whiz Kid Word certificate. I have 2 to choose from. They can glue it as the last page of their booklet.
Click on the link to view/print the 100 Day word certificates.
Click on the link to view/print the article's directions, pix, cover & certificates. 100 Day Word Booklet. Read Michael Frith’s I’ll Teach My Dog 100 Words as the perfect introduction to this activity.
I LOVE this book. It’s a Cat in the Hat “Bright and Early” reader for the “youngest of the young.”
These stories are “brief and funny” the words are “few and easy” and have a “happy catchy rhythm”. This one rhymes. The pictures are colorful and perfect clues for your emergent readers!
Happy soon-to-be 100 Day! For more fun activities to celebrate this great day check out my FREE 100 Day bulletin board ideas and my FREE 85-page 100 Day Unit.
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"There are 3 choices in life: give up, give in, or give it all you've got!"
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A Colorful Martin Luther King Bulletin Board
Happy Martin Luther King Day to those of you who will be celebrating his birthday this coming Monday. My apologies for not getting this article published a few days ago as planned.
I saw making snowflakes out of strips of paper on Pinterest. (Wow can that be addicting!) Click on the link to check out my pin boards. You can find the original cute idea at Mrs. Carroll's Blog Spot Parade. She made them on powder blue paper with pattern blocks.
Snowflakes are unique like people. They are the same, but different, so I thought they’d be a great segue into Martin Luther King Activities.
Because people are beautiful and special no matter what color they are, I thought a beautiful blizzard of colorful flakes would make an interesting bulletin board.
Sesame Street’s We Are Different; We Are The Same is a great story to read & discuss to go with this activity, as the snowflake’s template is the same, but all of the flakes are also different in some way. Older students could list ways they are different and ways that they are the same as their classmates on the back strips of their snowflakes.
Involve math by having students create a pattern on one strip. I used a snowflake and heart paper punch. These can be pre-cut by a room helper, or let students strengthen their hand muscles by punching 3 of each shape.
By making copies of students’ school photos, you can add charm to your board as well as make this a real keepsake project for parents, while creating an ABCABC pattern.
Another pattern is made when students choose 2 different color markers to write their name in an ABAB pattern on the 2nd strip.
Let students know that Martin Luther King had a dream and explain to them what his dream was. You can listen to his dream speech at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V57lotnKGF8 These other You Tube videos are all extremely short and will add interest to your day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=8AyF9Idh_iE I have a dream quote with soothing background music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiF2aAx0kds&feature=related Cool motion typography. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNAy6Bhij8A Music video picture montage of Martin Luther King http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA7WCHfVRfc As part of the “I Have A Dream Project” people were asked what their dreams were. I especially liked this one.
No matter how young, most students have a dream to be “something” when they grow up. Brainstorm ideas with your students and write them on the board so they know how to spell their “dream careers.”
Write the sentence, “My dream is to be a/an ________________.” Children fill in the blank with what they want to be when they “grow up” and write their completed sentence on the 3rd strip.
If you’re not celebrating Martin Luther King Day, you can always save this idea for next year and have students write a resolution/ goal or promise on the strip.
To expedite this center, and to make sure little ones can make a symmetric snowflake, I’ve made a template.
Students choose a color and put 2 strips on the template. Have 2” pieces of scotch tape stuck around the table.
Children use 1 piece to adhere the 2 strips together that form the X. They then place the 3rd strip down the middle and use the 2nd piece of tape to stick that strip to the other 2.
You can opt to use glue sticks, but I find that little ones rub glue all over the strip instead of one place, a lot of glue gets on the desk and is wasted and they take so much more time, or they don’t use enough glue and when they bring their snowflake up to be hung it is falling apart.
The snowflakes look awesome on a navy blue or black background. Your caption could read: “A Beautiful Blizzard of Brrr-illiant Work!” OR “We’re All Different; We’re All The Same!” OR “We’re Snow Special No Matter What Color Or How Flakey!”
Whenever I have a center where I want to make sure that I have a variety of ALL the colors on my b. board, I cut out only enough strips to make a class set of whatever with a few extra.
I assign a tabletop activity for students to accomplish first and then they transition to the art center when they are done.
The students who get down to business and stay focused get a wider variety of color choices.
My “pokey Joes” choose from the remaining colors. This has proven to be an incentive for some students, and I don’t end up with an all pink and purple b. board.
Click on the link to view/print the template, pix, and directions. Martin Luther King Snowflakes
Are you looking for some more Martin Luther King activities? Click on the link to see the quickie projects in my Martin Luther King Mini Unit.
Whatever you're doing this coming Monday, I hope it's simply marvelous!
When I design an activity I try to think of a variety of things students can do with it and this one really has the WOW factor.
It helps with reading, math, puzzle skills, strengthens fine motor muscles and is just plain fun!
Students can sequence them when they complete the puzzles, and trace everything with dry erase markers and then rub them clean with a damp cloth or wet wipe.
Make a double set on off white paper and have children partner up to play “Speed” against each other.
I’ve provided a blank set if you want to make sets for those tough teen numbers or make a set with upper and lowercase letters too.
I used a small snowflake punch for the buttons. You could also use a hole punch, snowflake stickers, or those small dot stickers.
I included a spinner so that if you make enough for a class set, you can pass out the pieces for one complete snowman to each child.
Teacher spins the spinner or gives each student a chance to spin the spinner. Whatever number it lands on the child with that number gets to assemble a piece of their snowman. The first children with their snowman completed, wins the “Puzzled Snowman” game and receive a sticker!
There are matching number and number word cards as well. Students practice matching the numbers to the words by playing a Memory Match game.
Children reinforce fine motor skills by tracing and cutting out the cards and enjoy making an Itty Bitty booklet to take home and share with their families.
They can also sort the cards by odd and even numbers, alphabetize the words and sequence the numbers. Have them choose a partner and play “Speed” against them to see who can sort, match or sequence the fastest.
Click on the link to view/print the snowman number word cards.
Turn these snowmen into a cute keepsake by running off the one that represents how old each student is. "I'm Mia; I'm..." is on the hat brim and their birthday is on the bottom circle.
Included in this 37-page booklet are a variety of worksheets with the 3-circled snowman motif that review number, math and letter skills. Click on the link to take a look. Snowman Number Puzzles.
Click on the link to view/print a few freebies. Snowman worksheets You can't tell in the photo, but the smile is left off. If the student gets the answer correct they get to put the smile on.
Don’t you just love getting things for free? Why not become a subscriber and continue to be able to download the entire shopping cart at no additional cost for an entire year! Click on the link for details.
Tune in SATURDAY for a quick and easy snowflake idea!
