Kindergarten is a Hoot!

Just a quick post tonight… :)

November is here and I am starting to have my littles think about what they are thankful for. I have realized that I need to be aware of who/what I am thankful for as well!

One thing I can say without a doubt is that I have AMAZING parent volunteers this year! In fact, one volunteer helped me create this fantastic hallway display:

Kindergarten certainly is a “hoot”!

What kinds of things do you have your parent volunteers help with??? I would LOVE to know what others are doing or have done in the past!

Happy “Hump Day”!

Mary

Concluding Nocturnal Animals (Trick or Treat for the Freebie that's hidden in the post!)

Nocturnal Animals conclusion:

My littles and I have been learning about nocturnal animals for the last few weeks (see previous blog entries!) After reading these books…

 I wanted to “test” their new knowledge! I asked them to draw pictures of nocturnal animals. When I handed them black construction paper, they protested! Their eyes lit up when they began drawing on the paper with their crayons! 

Here are some pictures of the results!!

We also read parts of “Owls” by Gail Gibbons. I asked them to draw three facts they learned about owls. I made this template for them:

Here are some pictures of their drawings. 

Fact 1: Owls catch field mice. Fact 2: Some owls make nests inside a cactus. Fact 3: Some owls make nests in trees.

Fact 1: Some owls nest in a cactus. Fact 2: Owls catch snakes with their talons. Fact 3: Owls lay eggs.

Fact 1: Owls catch mice. Fact 2: Owls can swallow a snake whole. Fact 3: Owls catch snakes.

Fact 1: Owls live in a cactus. Fact 2: Owls live in trees. Fact 3: Owls like snakes to eat.

Fact 1: Some owls are brown. Fact 2: Snowy owls are white with black spots. Fact 3: Owls catch snakes with their talons.

My goal for this activity was to help students organize their thinking and new information. I also want to use this to help them tell the difference between fiction and nonfiction books in future lessons!

Since next week is Halloween week (YAY!), I am thinking my theme will be “Skeletons”. This will be a wonderful way to integrate Science into my curriculum! Here are a few book I’m planning on using (I ordered "Skeleton Hiccups" too!):

Of course, we will attempt to make a skeleton out of Q-tips and MAYBE I'll make a game or two to review skills? Who knows what I'll convince myself to do! I do enjoy my weekends! 

Well, that’s all from me tonight folks! I hope you have an amazing weekend! My husband and I are taking my niece to Cedar Point for Halloweekends! Woo Hoo!

Mary

Bat and Owl Fun!

Bat and Owl FUN!

We had a three day week with the kids this week. I did a quick focus on 2 nocturnal animals: owls and bats.  My students really liked the activities!

I used DeAnna Jump's Owl Glyph to teach collecting and displaying data. They really enjoyed making their owls and comparing the data results! :) 

I also used A Cupcake for the Teacher's Going Batty Craftivity to review diagrams and non fiction text features. Once I get them up on the wall, I'll get pictures up! I didn't use the craftivity exactly the way it was intended but they really turned out great!

Thanks to both teachers for the wonderful freebies! My students LOVED creating them! 

Finally, I made a few "Can-Have-Are" graphic organizers to use to encourage my students to write! We read books about bats and owls and filled out the "can-have-are" charts afterwards. The next day, I modeled how to use the charts to write sentences/mini reports about bats & owls! My kids really loved doing this! Here are a few pictures of the students using their charts to write sentences! 

So proud of my kids!!

Her desk may be cluttered, but she is busy at work! :)

He is matching his printing to the font on the chart...he's just great! :)

This little sweetie is hard at work writing sentences using her "Can Have Are" chart! :)



This was a surprisingly easy & fun activity for my kids. I emphasized that this is the kind of things that older boys and girls do so they were pretty pumped to complete this activity! I am thinking I will do this again...how great is this for teaching note taking and "report" writing?!

You can download the charts free from my TpT Store. Click here be taken to my store to download the charts! Enjoy them! If you like them, please consider rating them!!!