1-2-3 Come Play Some Groundhog Games With Me

Slip Slappin' Away....

     Have you ever been to an arcade and played the game where you hold a hammer and wait for that crazy furry little critter to emerge and then try and bang him on the head? 

     That game led me to thinking up a slapping game you could incorporate in your Groundhog Day activities.   My Y5's couldn't wait for their turn to slap a groundhog card with a flyswatter. 

So why would they slap him?  To recite answers: like letters, shapes, numbers and skip counted sequences!  I thought this would not only be a great time for my students, but a terrific way to review lots of report card standards, and a super easy way for me to whole-group assess at the same time! Click on the link to view/download the Groundhog Day Slappin' Games

The packet includes slapping cards for 54 words that are related to groundhogs and Groundhog Day.  I've included a traceable word strip on the bottom of each card for students to practice writing. 

Make an extra set, laminate and cut the traceable word off to make puzzles.  There's a 2-page tip list of ideas for the word cards, plus I've included a cover for them, so students can make "Itty Bitty" word books. 

As a Daily 5 word work activity, have students arrange the words in alphabetical order.  There's also a cover for students to make a Groundhog Day Word Dictionary.

There's a set of groundhog alphabet cards showing both the upper and lowercase letters together, and then sets for separate upper and lowercase letters.  These are great for Memory Match of "I Have; Who Has?" games.

So you can review colors, there's a set of cards for traceable color words as well as 2 different kinds of groundhogs that your kiddos can color, so there's a groundhog to match each color word.

Traceable number cards to 10, as well as sets of skip counting cards by 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's are also included.

My personal favorite is the "I spy a shape" groundhog cards.

There is a card for the star as well as the heart, because I know some preschool teachers also cover those shapes, plus a set of cards that don't have the groundhog on them, so that you can make more games, or use them after Groundhog Day is a distant memory.

These too have matching traceable word cards.  All sets include blank cards so you can program with whatever you'd like, such as addition and subtraction equations, spelling words, CVC words etc.  (So many possibilities; so little time!) 

Here's what you do:

• Print off the masters, make extra's to add your own information, laminate the cards and cut them out.
  
• At school, gather your students into a circle on your carpeted area.  Choose the cards you want to work on, and sprinkle them face-up on the floor. 
  
• Explain what they should do, and model it for them.
  
• Give the first child the flyswatter and one minute to slap as many groundhog answer cards as they can.  Keep track of how many groundhog cards they slap correctly, by writing their names on the board and making tally marks.
  
•  For young children who are learning how to identify they name, you can write students' names on the cards and have them slap their name card. 
• Once everyone has identified their card, use them to do the Groundhog Pokey to help them get the wiggles out, then pin the card to their shirtsand have them locate classmates who have some of the same letters, or the same initial as they do.
  
• Click on the link to view/print The Groundhog Pokey
• Another game you can play is to let each child take a turn at sequencing the skip counted cards, or play "I Have; Who Has?" and count as you locate the cards.
  
• They could also arrange the skip counted cards in front of them and then omit every other card. 
  
• After they have done that, they can slap the groundhogs, counting as they go, saying the missing numbers as they slap the groundhogs and the empty spaces. 
  

• After the fun, have them make an Itty Bitty Booklet out of whatever set of cards you want your students to work on, or make little booklets for all of the sets.
• Children enjoy a "just-my-size" booklet to share with their families and it reinforces what they're learning at school. 
  
• Before your students go home, give them a certificate of praise for being great groundhog slappers!
  

I hope you'll have lots of fun slapping these groundhogs!  Enjoy your day! Click on the link to print/view the Groundhog Slap Game cards. Feel free to PIN away.

"Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know!" -Daniel Boorstin

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Chinese New Year Activities With Me

Chinese New Year starts the 31st, but you have plenty of time to plug in some cultural social studies, as the festivities run for 15 days, ending on Valentines Day this year. 

Why not teach your kiddos how to count to 10 in Chinese? To help you, I designed some Chinese and English number cards, so children can play Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" games. 

The packet also includes an anchor chart that shows the order of "brush" strokes, as well as helpful links so students can see and hear the numbers. 

One of the sites tells you how to ask a person their phone number in Chinese. 

I thought that would be a really fun activity for students, so I made a recording sheet.  There's also one for students to write their age on. 

Introduce these lessons by reading a Chinese counting book.  I've included 3 suggestions. 

Click on the link to view/download the Let's Count In Chinese,Number Card Packet. 

If you're studying money right now, it would be interesting for your students to compare US currency with China's.  The renminbi (RMB)  (pronounced like the letters) is their official currency.

You may also have heard of the yuan, (pronounced you-en) which is the basic unit of the renminbi, but is also used as a synonym for China's currency, especially in international contexts, sort of like England's Brittish Sterling and the pound.

Since currency rates change daily, click on the link to visit the China Tour site; here students can type in a US dollar amount and have it converted to Chinese yuan. 

Currently, the Chinese yuan is worth .15 cents in US money, and 100 US dollars is 664.0 yuan.  I've made up a Chinese Currency packet that you'll find helpful.  

It includes 2 Venn diagrams, so students can compare and contrast Chinese currency with ours.

I've also included some templates for their paper money.  It's a Chinese tradition to give money to children during Chinese New Year. 

They place it in red envelopes for good luck.   You could print some of this money off and include it inside a red envelope for your students.

Most office supply stores sell red envelopes, and after Christmas they go on sale 50% off.  As with the 100 dollar bill for 100-Day, you could substitute your students' photo on the money. 

Use them as "behavior bucks" where students earn them throughout the day, as they accomplish various tasks, and then "convert" them for a priviledge or trip to your treasure box.  Click on the link to view/download the Chinese Currency Packet.

Also math related, are these 9 Chinese puzzles that will help your students practice counting forwards, backwards and by 10's.

I'm thrilled to add another graphics artist to our activities.  Along with Laura Strickland and DJ Inkers, you'll be seeing the adorable work from Scrappin Doodles.  Click on the link to view/download the Chinese New Year puzzle packet.

Finally, I designed some incentives or prizes that you can make and give to your students, to add to the excitement of your Chinese New Year celebration.  

Purchase a pack of sparkly pencils at The Dollar store, print off these toppers, trim, cut slits and insert the pencil. 

Challenge students to collect all three designs as they accomplish tasks, or play games. The Chinese symbols on the 1st one say "Happy New Year."  The teapot says: U R T rific! and the dragon says Happy Chinese New Year.

Click on the link to view/download the Chinese New Year Pencil Topper Packet.

Another inexpensive treat that you can give your kiddos, is a lollipop note.  There are 5 designs to choose from.  Print them off, cut slits and insert a lollipop. My personal favorite is the fan, which says, "I hope your New Year is fantastic."

Because of Valentines Day, The Dollar Store is carrying red heart lollipops, perfect for Chinese New Year too, because red is such an important color in China.   Click on the link to view/download the Chinese New Year Lollipop Notes. 

Last, but not least, I always enjoyed making treat bags for my Y5's.  This can be your snack, an incentive, or prize.  There are 5 headers to choose from.

I've photographed the treats that I put in mine.  Click on the link to view/download the Chinese New Year Treat Bag Headers.

Thanks for visiting today.  I have lots more to share, so I hope you can pop by tomorrow.  I'll be finishing up with some adorable crafty Chinese New Year FREEBIES.  Feel free to PIN away.

"One joy scatters a hundred griefs." -Chinese Proverb

1-2-3 Come Do Some Chinese New Year Activities and Crafts With Me.

There never seems to be enough time in the teaching day, so things like social studies and science don't get covered all that much anymore, if at all.  This is truly a sad state of affairs, because our children are not as well-rounded as they used to be, when life was simpler and no one ever heard of CCSS or standardized testing.

For this reason, I really try hard to design things that cover the standards, while at the same time plugging in a few of the more fun extras.  One of my Y5's favorite theme days was our Chinese New Year celebration.  It was a great way to have my students learn about, compare and contrast another country.  They were fascinated. 

Even if you don't have time for an entire unit, many of the following activities can quickly and easily be added to your day.   If nothing else, simply read several books about Chinese New Year during your story time, and have children locate Asia and China on a map.  

If you need some help finding a story, click on the link for a list of 53 of my all-time favorite Chinese books.  

I think you'll find it quite helpful, as it's a comprehensive annotated bibliography, where I explain and comment on each book. 

It took me zillions of hours to put it together, and that was after I spent some time sorting through my huge collection, but I thought it was time well-spent, as most people are not that familiar with multi-cultural books.    

I've also designed 4 Chinese bookmarks to pass out to your kiddos.  Click on the link to check them out.  

You can find a few of these stories being read on YouTube as well. A personal favorite, is Tikki Tikki Tembo.  

My Y5’s were delighted when I repeated  Tikki’s very long full name, and wanted to learn it themselves.  Click on the link for an excellent animated version of this popular folktale.

Another wonderful YouTube fairytale video is The Story of Nian. It’s just 3 minutes and explains the meaning behind many of the Chinese New Year beliefs, because of this mythological half lion-half dragon.

This year, Chinese New Year is being celebrated on Friday, January 31st and runs for 15 days, which ends on our Valentine's Day, so there's plenty of time to try and fit something cultural into your lessons.  

It's the year of the horse, so if you do an animal unit, your students will enjoy learning about the Chinese zodiac creatures.

The Chinese typically don't refer to this celebration as Chinese New Year; instead, the festivities are known as Spring Festival 春節 or Lunar New Year 農曆新年 because their year is determined by the Lunar Calendar. 

The Chinese aren't the only ones who observe it either. From late January to mid-February, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and other countries celebrate Lunar New Year too.

A fun way to add a bit of Asian flavor to your day, is with these Chinese dragon alphabet cards.  Use them as flashcards, a bulletin board boarder, independent center or for group games. 

I've included a 3-page tip list of things you can do with the cards.  After laminating, cut up an extra set and make puzzles. Click on the link to view/download the Chinese dragon alphabet cards.

Although China does not have a set of alphabetical letters like we do, it is possible to write your students' names in Chinese. 

I found an awesome site "Free Chinese Name Translations" where you simply type in your kiddos names and they appear in lovely Chinese characters!  The photo shows what my name looks like. 

I copy and pasted my family's names in a document, so that I could shrink or enlarge them.  I had such a great time diddling around here; my brain was going 90-miles an hour, thinking of fun things I could do with these.

A few names "could not be found" (my sister Kathie, for example) but you could adjust the spelling and see if that helps. Kathy did work.  I simply corrected the spelling on my copy.  If that doesn't work, you could also try a child's middle name.

These can be made into bookmarks, a certificate of praise, nametag, flag, greeting card, lantern, fan, or shrunk to make the center tag for a necklace, button, or magnet.  The photo shows the fan I made. 

To make one, enlarge the name card that you made, by cutting and pasting it into a Word or Pages document.  I dragged the image to the full size of the length of the paper.  Leave at least 2-3 inches of white border on the bottom when you cut it out, or your name won't show up.

When students are done, staple the bottom and gently pull apart.  "Fan-folding" is an excellent fine motor skill that my Y5's really enjoyed doing.

Another quick activity your kiddo's could do when they were done with lessons, is to color a Chinese picture.  Click on the link for the Chinese ChildBook site. 

It has a large variety of Chinese New Year prints including these cute little Chinese children.  Any of them could also be folded to make a prety fan.

Another simple way to add a splash of China to your day, is by playing some of their soothing music while your students work.  There's something very calming in the melodic music that chinese instruments create. 

I'm listening to "Music From The Tea Lands" as I blog.  It's especially meaningful because 2 of our sons were born in Korea.  If you don't have a CD, click on the link to hear 25 minutes of tranquil sounds from China.

As your students come through the door, wish them a Happy New Year in Chinese, and then teach them how to say: " Gong Hey Fat Choy." (gung-she-fah-tie) 

After several hours of research, I made up a page of information that includes several ways to say Happy New Year in Chinese, as well as links for you to hear how it should sound, plus the Chinese characters that make up these greetings. 

There are also some great links of Chinese children singing Happy New Year.  This informational sheet is in the Chinese Bookmark packet. Click on the link to grab this FREEBIE. Choose which ever bookmark you like the best and tuck one in your students' desks or backpacks. 

That’s it for today.   I have so much more to share, but I don’t want these blog articles to get too long. Be sure and pop by tomorrow for some more great Chinese New Year Activities.  Feel free to PIN away.

“A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.” –Chinese Proverb