National Doughnut Day!

I can't believe I didn't know there was National Doughnut Day! I would have celebrated this day for sure. Really, is there anything better than an Old Fashioned Glazed Doughnut? 

 I remember going to the Minnesota State Fair when I was little, and one of the booths in the food building was French doughnuts. The lines were long, but will never forget those warm glazed French doughnuts.  They melted in your mouth and one was not enough.  That booth is long gone, but not forgotten.  

Another memory was the great book Homer Price and the Doughnuts by Robert McCloskey. I loved this book and thought Homer was so funny. It was a story about a doughnut machine that wouldn't stop making doughnuts and a diamond bracelet played an important part of this story.

I will celebrate Doughnut Day when I go to "The World's Best Donuts" in Grand Marais, Minnesota. 

It's now on my calendar, the first Friday in June,National Doughnut Day!  

Make Donut Day any day in your classroom with this great mini-lesson and  book, If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Brown.

The unit features a lower case alphabet game with a dog theme.

 It also has worksheets on money, D sound sheet, art projects,measuring donuts, games, songs and data collecting on my favorite donuts.

Don't let Donut Day pass by without  If You Give Your Dog a Donut and some fun activities.

Fishing Opener in Your Classroom!

One of Minnesota’s holiday is the second weekend in May Walleye Fishing Opener!

I kid you not when I say the ice fishermen are barely off the frozen lake, then all the talk is about the fishing opener.   The fishing opener inspired me to write the fishing theme unit.  I think all children love fishing.   If it’s in a lake, river, pond, ocean, or even a fish pond at a carnival the anticipation of hooking the prize is always there.

I wanted the fishing theme to incorporate both math and literacy along with some fun ideas to go along with it.

Here is my Fishing Theme and some of my ideas!

Vocabulary words

     The unit includes a  Word Find using many of  the vocabulary words

Poems/ Songs/Finger plays

      My very favorite song is..

The kids love the song too.  Even if I don't teach the fishing unit, I teach them this song!  

  

Book List

  I love,love, love this book 

H is for Hook (a fishing Alphabet)

by Judy Young

The illustrations are wonderful, the story is great for the kiddos, but the  factual information on the side is excellent.  I liked this book so much it is part of my own personal library.

Fish Thoughts and Ideas

     Data information- Some of the data I collect is

Have you ever gone fishing?    

Do you like to eat fish?

Do you have a fish aquarium?

       

Fishing Jokes

    Cute to illustrate

Fishing License

   I like to give the kiddos the fish license.  I punch them with a paper punch as they do a variety of activities or complete the worksheets.

Class game to play outside or indoors

   This is a fun game,but the kiddos have to pay attention           to which "pond" has been fished.

Measuring

   Worms!

   We make a snack and eat worms!

Time

The early Fisherman catches the fish!

The are 5  time sheets - teaches both on the hour and half hour.

Addition and Subtraction Activities

 All of the sheets are partner games and the kids each  love the games and the anticipation of each roll of the  dice. 

Story Mats

   These are great to use "Goldfish" to manipulate addition and subtraction story problems.  The kiddos can also generate their own problems with each other.

Graphing

  These sheets I tell the kids these are the fish they have caught and they need to sort and organize their catch!

Go Fish Sight Word Game

I have a sight word list,but left a blank for you to generate your own words.

Photo Session

   Dress up the kiddos and take a picture of the fish that didn't get away!

Let your “Fishing Season” begin in the classroom and catch some fun!

Teaching Tip Tuesday

Teaching Tip Tuesday
It's spring and one of the books I always read is "Make Way for Duckling" by Robert McCloskey.(1941)"  I always talk to the kiddos about this book  and the author.  He was an author and illustrator.  His unique and detailed drawings are beautiful.  Make Way for Ducklings was a Caldecott medal winner for its illustrations.  It's perfect for writers workshop because we talk about the details in the drawings and there is no color just the beautiful drawing. In writers workshop it's funny to listen  to the kiddos ask if their drawing look like Robert McCloskey drawings. When you talk about illustrating in writers workshop go to the Robert McCloskey books and you'll have Caldecott Medal winners in your class.

Earth Day- Re-use!

Earth Day Tidbit- Reuse!  Reuse!

Earth Day is this week and I’m all about how to recycle “copied” paper which can be reused!

Class Pictures

I use “head and body” pictures of the kiddos all year long for Writers Workshop, Math and art projects.  I put the class portraits on one sheet of paper.  This is a perfect way to use the unused copies.  I make an original using a grid so all the heads fit on a sheet, I just copy the original on the clean side of the unclaimed paper. 

  Now I have class pictures ready to use for many projects and I have "reused" the unclaimed paper.

Do you teach Earth Day Activities?  You may be interested !

Earth Day Tidbit!

Earth Day Tidbit- Reuse!  Reuse!

Earth Day is this week and I’m all about how to recycle “copied” paper which can be reused!

Free Play Masterpieces

During Free Play in the classroom I always have an art center which can be painting with Tempera paints, water colors, dot markers, etc.  I love this center, but I don’t put out clean sheets of paper for the kiddos to practice making their masterpieces.  Some kids will paint up to 5 or 6 sheets of paper during the free play time.  I  go the copy room and take the paper sitting in a tray for weeks that is unclaimed copies.

 I use the clean back sides for the painting. 

This is a perfect way to use unclaimed copies for the masterpieces the kiddos paint in my class make during free play.

 Once again, reuse rather than recycle!

Do you teach Earth Day Activities?  You may be interested !

Earth Day !

Earth Day Tidbit- Reuse!  Reuse!

Earth Day is this week and I’m all about how to recycle “copied” paper which can be reused!

Daily Sign-in Book

Each year I have a sign in book (3 ring- binder) for my kiddos.  They must sign their first name or last name each day.  At the end of the year the binder has a stack of papers with one side of the paper blank and in great condition.  I take the paper out and rather than recycle all of it, I cut the paper in quarters and use it for the class daily estimation jar answers or Assessment Pocket Chart questions.

Now I can recycle the paper and know I have reused it!

Do you teach Earth Day Activities?  You may be interested !

Teaching Tip Tuesday- Classroom Teaching Clock

Teaching Tip Tuesday- Classroom Teaching Clock
The best classroom clock I bought came from Lakeshore Learning.  It is both digital and analog clock. I love that the digital numbers and the analog clock are side by side.
 I can set the digital clock and the kiddos can set the set their analog clocks at their tables or I can  set the  analog clock  and the kiddos write the digital  time.
There are so many ways to use this clock, don't go another year without getting this great clock.